


Kirby And Velby, Heroes Of The Universe

by Ticcory



Category: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, But it will take a while for that, Chatfic parts, Cringe, Dededad, Gijinka/Anthropormorphism, Kirby and Twin are adopted by Fumu's Family, Kirby has a Twin, LGBT+ rep, Maybe I'll redo it in the future, Multi, OCs everywhere, Outdated hcs, Polyam rep, Too much work for a first-timer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ticcory/pseuds/Ticcory
Summary: Years ago, two babies emerged from the ground in Pupupu Village, near Parm Manor. The Parm family adopted the children, and after naming them they became Kirby and Velby. They weren't expected to be too strong, Pop Star's a bit of a backwater planet. But it turns out that these kids have secrets that even they don't know about. They have a lot of adventures to go on, and people to befriend.-------Unfortunately, I was way too ambitious, so I've given up on this fic before even starting the first arc. But it's not gonna stop me from writing fanfics. And... who knows? Maybe one day I'll redo this. To those who did, thanks for reading these 6 chapters of self-indulgent nonsense.
Relationships: Escargoon/King Dedede, Kirby & OC, Memu | Lady Like/Paamu | Sir Ebrum, Sailor Waddle Dee/Blade Knight
Comments: 12
Kudos: 11





	1. On A Spring Breeze, A Surprise! Twins In Dream Land?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The egg is hatched, the children have names, and one day we will get into the games. One day.

In the outskirts of Pupupu Village, in the Parm Manor grounds, belonging to Duke Brumin Parm and Duchess Memu Parm, there was a rumbling in the ground. For the past few months, the rumbling had increased. It felt like something was about to burst. The people could think of only one thing.

A Popumon's baby. With big oval eyes, and a large appetite, this species would feel right at home in Dream Land. Yet, there were no parents to be seen. The rumbling started overnight, and everyone was questioned on if they saw anything, or if the child is a hybrid, a common occurrence. But there were no clues. Chief Borun Nikkum, a Cappy police officer who did not want to stay in his ancestral forest home, suggested that he take the child to the village orphanage once it had emerged. But the child would hatch in the Duke's land. It was up to him. With two children who he loved dearly taking up much of his time, but fearful for the child's rearing, he felt quite conflicted. The Duchess, who figuratively, and often literally, wore the pants in this relationship, fiercely objected to anyone but the Parms adopting the child. Her two children were growing up. Soon, the elder child, Fumu, would enter the second phase of her education, as she had passed the exam and the age restriction, she was definitely gifted academically, but had some trouble befriending other children because of that. Her younger child wasn't quite old enough for the second phase, and was more interested in sports than the academics, but she was still proud of his sporting accomplishments. But enough about that. Memu was starting to feel old, despite the fact that neither of her children were getting anywhere close to becoming adults. But she had made her mind up. She could not be stopped.

\-----

When the day arrived, everyone knew. It was April 27th, according to the Galactic Calendar, copied from an old system used by the long-extinct sole sapient species of a neighbouring planet. The spring breeze would usually make a nice noise on the windchimes in the village. The rumbling interrupted it. The rumbling was surprisingly noticeable, comparable to a small earthquake, which do not happen in Dream Land. A definite surprise, as a Popumon's hatching did not usually make such a loud noise. It alerted the whole Village, including a few outsiders, such as a Senior Poppy Brother, Blast Biggins, - a representative of the guardian of the trees and forests, Whispy Woods, and a Waddle Doo, Kudu Eyers, hailing from Bubbly Clouds -planning on relaying the message back to her boss, the guardian of the skies, Kracko-. Channel PPP was there too, reporting it for those who could not leave their homes. All of Pop Star tuned in, even those in far away lands, like the floating islands, and the colourful islands, and the islands named after an ancient creation deity, and, well, that's a lot of islands. Most importantly, the Advisor of the King himself, Dr. Escargon Sneld, was there to observe. The Parm family were of mixed emotions and thoughts.

'A new sibling? That sounds so cool! Big sis said that those Popumoni were real good with magic. We're not that great, but maybe the kid can teach me? Then I'll teach them a bunch of games!'

'I really hope that this little sibling will like the ocean as much as I do. We'll be able to bond over it as they grow up! Addition to that: beach days are fun. I just hope that no one messes with them. I won't show mercy!'

'I do hope that my dear hasn't made a mistake... What if the child doesn't like us? What if the parent or parents come back now? What will His Majesty think? What will the Guardians think? What will the villagers think? Well, I think that I should go to see Dr. Yabui. Grey hair is a sign of stress, and I feel a lot of that.'

'Why is my darling sweating so much? It's only a baby! I can finally look after a sweet little baby again while my older children are at school. I just can't wait!'

The rumbling got louder, louder, louder... A clear orb finally emerged, it is what the Popumoni refer to as their 'egg'. However, something was... different. There were two children. One with light pink hair and a darker pink body. From what is seen, the child's markings are a hot-pink colour. The other child looked very different. Their hair was a light grey colour, almost white. The body was a dark grey colour, and this one's markings were purple. The camera Dee, known as Capdee got closer, searching for the perfect angle with his tired eyes. The reporter Dee, Bodee, was gesturing wildly at the twins. The gestures made up for the lack of a mouth. The assistant, Beadee, was drawing on the cue cards, as Bodee was ignoring everything that had been written. Finally, the Dee holding the boom mic, Heddee, was trying to save the microphone from being hit by the overly-excited, eye-sparkling reporter. How these four managed a news channel was beyond most people, but the antics of the quartet were loved by all. Most of the time. Right now, the viewers wanted to get a closer look at the twins. Twins! This never happened! Popumoni who were watching questioned their knowledge of their kind to see if they had heard of such a thing. Geneologists went onto the Ultraweb to converse with their inter-planetary colleagues. There were two of them. In one egg. Unheard of.

This was a surprise to everyone. Some people wondered if they were dreaming. Some remembered how much a Popumoni would eat, and wondered if living nightmares had entered their country. Some wondered how strong the children would become, as they were a formidable species. Some wondered how the Parms would cope, the family went from a family of four to a family of six! That was, unless, the Duchess changed her mind? The Royal Advisor was holding the adoption papers, as the orphanage owner, Fedee Wallin, was too shocked to even come close to the twins. The Doctor slowly moved toward the Duchess, papers in hand, nervously pulling on his green, lower tentacles, temporarily stopping all scents from coming close. Which was nice for him, as an Popumon egg has an odd smell to it. Usually a smell of sweets, which Escargon was not too fond of.

"Duchess Memu, I can easily get another set of adoption papers if you wish. Or you could send the twins to the Wallin Orphanage, that is up to you," the shelled Unipodan suggested, "I just can't believe that there are two... I can only imagine the King's reaction..."

As the man started to snicker over his imagining of the monarch's likely surprised expression, Memu grabbed the papers, nodded at Fedee to retrieve another set, and crouched down next to the egg.

She stared.

Everyone stared at the egg. Waiting for the hatching.

\-----

Just as Fedee returned with the other set of papers, a crack appeared, caused by the pink child smacking the egg. The white-haired child kicked it a second later. The twins continued to beat the egg that was protecting them for the past 6 months with such power in their tiny bodies, that it broke into a sparkling, twinkling, rainbow powder. In record time, too.

As the children of the village and the youngest Parm, Bun, tried to collect as much rainbow powder as they could, the Duke and Fumu each picked up a child. Brumin stared into the deep ruby eyes of the lighter child, the purple, heart-shaped pupils were almost reflecting his yellow eyes back at him. Fumu's light green eyes stared into the sky blue eyes of the pink child, noting the odd hot-pink star-shaped pupils. They stopped staring at the children and faced Memu, who had to make a difficult decision once again.

What should she name them? She tried to think of any great names that would fit, and then remembered the names of the founding sister Queens of her home country, from her home planet. She remembered the stories of the elder, quiet, yet brave. Spoke only when she felt it was necessary, and gave the working classes food as great as the nobles. She was Queen Kiri. Then she remembered the younger Queen, more outspoken and ready to face hardships. She stepped aside to let her quieter sister share the blinding spotlight, and gave those whose hearts were tainted a feeling of paradise by introducing rehabilitation. She was Queen Veli. She had figured out the names. Now which name to which child?

The pink child was quietly muttering, 'Poyo' a few times then becoming silent once again. meanwhile, the silver child was yammering to Brumin in an odd, yet familiar tongue: babyspeak.

He did not understand, but Brumin looked at the child like it had just recited a poem in front of a judgemental class, while holding nothing back, or like the child had boosted the morale of its team when they were losing a match, such familiar memories, brought back by these twins. His eyes were shining with pride and joy, and a couple of tears. It had only been a few minutes, but his paternal instincts were reacting strongly to these children, who would never who their biological parents were.

As Bun came to look at the new Parm children, Memu had finally completed the papers. She pointed to the pink child. Then the white-haired babbler. She spoke clearly, so all would hear:

"Kirby... and Velby Parm. These are my children now. Please treat them with respect as you do with my biological children."

With those words, she whisked the children inside, leaving everyone in awe as she acquired old clothes from when Bun was a new-born for the newly hatched, hastily dressing them... even though the temperature did not bother them and there was not much to cover in the first place. As the twins looked at their surroundings, the Parm family smiled. They felt more complete now than ever before, and felt like they could handle anything. ...But this was Kirby and Velby.

\-----

Meanwhile, in the northern reaches of Dream Land, an area covered in ice, decorated with beautiful aurorae, a father spoke to his child,

"Do not poke that damned stick near me. Oh wait, you cannot. It reacts horribly to us. Well, you know the plan. I rest in here, gaining my strength for a few years. You become friends with the Kin- Don't interrupt me brat, I do not care if you have been an adult for centuries or for a week, you shall listen to your father! Unless... you want your little band of mercenaries to end up in trouble? Hm? I thought not. Listen, just do this for me, let me have this country, this one place of freedom where I am not being hunted by those fools who call themselves an army. They will never know that you helped. I can change their minds, you know that... Worried that things may end up similar to your ex? Heh, good thing there was a Maxim Tomato, or els- Stop glaring. That's reminding me of your idiot mother. If you do a good enough job of stalling him, I may even give you some land of your own. I know you like that ocean. Yes, yes, we've agreed on the terms, now help me or I will kill your friends... Good. Thank you, child. See you in your dreams~"

The father cackled as he disappeared to stars-knows-where. His child clenched their fist. Disappointed in themself. They heard two voices speaking in their mind, trying to cheer them up, saying that they were worthy of their companionship, worthy of the power of ancient Masters and of the Galaxies themselves. They were brave, strong, and didn't have to follow the man's orders. They had been free from him for so long, did they really want to do as he said? But their voices were blocked by the sound of a swished cape, flapping wings, and the quiet sobs of a regretful warrior. The sadness turned to fury. The child of the enemy clenched their fist. They would befriend the King. They would see their father once he had regained his strength. Then, by any means necessary... they would kill him. Or perhaps a set of twins with a Royal Frenemy would do it for them. The little flying warrior just had to wait. They could be patient. They would soon take revenge on their father... Now, what was this information they heard about Dream Land's Popumon egg?


	2. The News Spreads! Preparations Are Made! Who Will Win The Race To Meet the Twins?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see some familiar faces, but the twins don't, not yet at least.

It had only been an hour since the twins had hatched. The Parm family was inside the parents' bedroom, searching through the clothes Memu brought out for the children. Fumu made a mental reminder to tell her mother that more should be bought, as they had to dress two babies rather than one. As she was thinking that, Memu had finished cleaning them both, despite them literally being sparkling clean as they emerged from the ground. She then dressed Kirby in newly-bought clothes, a bright yellow t-shirt and sky blue knee-length shorts, along with pink boots. She was quite liking the clothes chosen on Kirby, but then she wondered what to do with the hair.

The hair was odd. Of all the pictures she had seen of the Popumoni while doing research, none had hair like this. The twins both had hair that seemed to be both liquid and solid at the same time. It was reminiscent of the slime from the kit she had bought for Bun for his previous birthday - and then later confiscated it after finding it all over Fumu's room and on the teacher's chair in his maths classroom. Except Kirby's hair was pink, not orange, and was curly naturally, with the ability to be moulded into any shape. Stretched, squashed, tied or loose, there was no end. Which is why she had trouble making her mind up. Then, Kirby abruptly stood, wobbled over to a pair of bright pink bobbles - or as the people over in Pupupu Village referred to them as, hair ties - with yellow stars decorating them and just popped them on top of Velby's similarly curly head as Fumu was dressing the greyer child. With that, Velby scrambled away from their older sister and thrusted a white headband with a pink-purple heart decoration into Kirby's hands. Both mother and daughter were shocked. Were the twins smarter than they looked?!

No, they just happened to notice their hair was being messed with and made up their minds. So Kirby ended up with their curly hair being pulled back by the headband. Velby had a pair of buns, much to Bun's dismay. The child was dressed in a yellow tank top, decorated with white flowers, and a pair of black jeans along with two tiny purple trainers - or as the villagers said, 'sneakers' -. Bun remarked that the flowers on Velby's top seemed too feminine, but Fumu shot back.

"Bun, from what my research showed me, the Popumoni aren't made with anything that designates their gender."

"...Can you say that in Galactic Common, and not nerd-talk. I'm not old, you know, some of those words were too much!" As Bun mocked his sister's age, he suddenyl came to the realisation that he too, was old. or at least, old compared to Kirby and Velby, by nearly 25 years, too! But he shook those thoughts out of his mind, preparing for his sister's retort.

"I understood this language at your age, Bun! It just means there's no way of telling what gender they have. Besides... If you think I'm old, what about Mama and Papa? I'm only 33, while Mama is 113 and Papa is 120! Addition to that!" Fumu kept talking without pause, her cheeks slightly becoming more orange, "there are many species out there that can live longer than we can. The Popumoni themselves have been reported to live for over 10,000 years! The first one was created about 23,000 years ago, so they would be very old if they are still alive!"

While the children bickered about species, ages, and genders, the parents sighed to themselves, Memu regretting letting Fumu learn so much about the Popumoni already and realising that her new siblings could outlive her by millennia. Soon, Bun would realise that, too. But the adult Parms knew that they still had many centuries left if they lived healthy lives.

Brumin questioned his wife, deciding to ignore the elder children, "Dear, should we buy skirts or dresses for the twins, too? Or do you think that they may be uncomfortable?", he had no problem with male or masculine people wearing skirts. Stars, he wore a floor length skirt himself! Then again, all Flivans from his home country wore skirts and dresses when they became an adult nobles. It's just tradition. However, things were a bit different in Dream Land. He was worried that the twins may get bullied. Luckily for him, and his greying hair - at such a young age, it usually wouldn't happen for another few centuries, he somehow forgot that premature greying ran in his family- he had a wife that could solve his problems. Usually by telling him to 'stop being such a pushover' or a 'worrywart', but hey, it always worked.

"Brumin, darling, these children seem to already be intelligent. Or at least intelligent enough to notice to bobbles and headbands over on the dressing table, and saw me and Fumu wearing the same things. If they decide that they do not like dresses or skirts, then we won't buy any. I say we buy some in case, and if they feel uncomfortable, we give them to those with babies who do like such clothing. It's simple, my love, stop being such a worrywart, or you may start developing wrinkles early, too!"

With the remark on his looks, Brumin quickly snapped his mouth closed, and left the room to grab food for the twins, who would obviously be hungry, but not without taking a not-so-subtle look at the mirror... Then sighing with relief when no wrinkles were spotted.

\-----

As the twins were being dressed, the Ultraweb had stepped into high gear, with Pupupu Villagers managing to snap photos of the emergence of the egg and the twins inside. They rushed to the library which had the best computers in the village, or their permanent computers if they managed to afford one - Pop Star doesn't need too much tech, but what with their proximity to a high tech, long-extinct species' remnants, they had to have some, which was being refined by companies, like the highly advanced Haltmann Works Company, the controversial Holy NightMare, and Galaxy Communications - a company that provides the GSA with funding, among others, and sharing the photos everywhere they could. Added to that, on the various social medias, group chats, and new website, the Channel Pupupu broadcast travelled to everyone. Broadcasters from other countries and planets decided to have a go at interviewing the Parms.

A man in a ninja costume outfit with a scar over his eye was making a live stream, which was being tuned into by many. His username is darkest_shadow. "Hello, friends. So I just woke up on Planet Tuuku, with my husband screaming in my ear to wake up, because my little boy woke up early and saw that Pop Star, Dream Land, and Pupupu Village were going viral. Well, an old friend of mine lives there, so if you're watching, you better say something in chat, Vengeful Knight!"

 **smashbrospunch!!:** oms!! @vengeful-knight u their littlee budy?? its been 2 years how is popp star?? got any new freinds?? found HIM yet?? r u MARRIED??!! i hope not because i wanna be the best man, because i AM the bestest man. sorry darket lololol.

 **doobydoobydoo27:** who's vengeful-knight? I thought you had the edgy user, shaddy! can't wait to see what you've got to say about Dream Land, my cousin lives there! gaaasp is your kid here now? he's so cute! can you show him to us?! :shadowexcite:

 **vulcan-punch:** another smash fan, aye? wonderful! who do you main? wait, more important, were you in the army with @vengeful-knight, because we work together now! the kid's one of my best mates, just as their mums are! oh my stars, it's weird to call them kid when they're much older than i.

 **gunvssword_whynotboth:** @smashbrospunch!! knucklehead what time is it for you because i know that you can't spell too well but this is horrible to read and @vengeful-knight little blueberry or blackberry or whatever colour you've sprayed yourself as i WILL find a fruit anyway where are you answer us and hi @vulcan-punch welcome to the gang of ANSWER US YOU BORB *****

 **smashbrospunch!!:** ironyy!! beacus you dont use FULL STOPS like this little fella -> . <\- seee that, garlic?? use them and i might spel better. anyway its nearly 3:00 and i am a tire man who forgott that theres a mision for me sooon and then ig et to see my SON!!!!!! buddy, metal friend, ples say somthin so i can sleeo!!

 **vengeful-knight:** Aye, @darkest_shadow, I am here. Hello all. Pop Star is a nice planet, my new workmates are friendly, I am NOT married, and I found him. He disappeared, but I will and must train harder in order to defeat him. But enough about me, what do you have to say about Dream Land? Is it the twin Popumoni?

"Hello there, my slightly edgy friend. Good to see that you're still alive and kicking over there, even though you're trying to deal with that butt-chinned son of a- no, no swearing, especially not with Little Red in the house... But yes, viewers, hop anywhere online and you will see two Popumoni children emerging from the same egg. Now, I've known a few Popumoni in my war days, and will likely meet more when my kid is older and I can go back to fighting, but from what I know, only one comes from the egg. This is something entirely new. ...I'm seeing you all use 'shadowexcite' down in chat. Yes, I am excited, but I am still dead on the inside. Don't forget viewers, and especially you, Knight: I am the edgiest one."

As the streamer with red eyes said that, the chat had filled with :shadowexcites:, except for vengeful-knight, who had already left. Their friends were a bit upset, yet used to it. They were quite the mysterious one. The mysterious knight was actually nearing Pupupu Village, where they spotted a frenzied Duke Parm rushing into the nearest store, and exiting with a yellow pushchair, speeding back to his manor. The knight correctly assumed that it was for the twins. They then decided to wait and observe the two, out of curiosity's sake, of course. While they were trying to recruit people to their cause, they were literally newborns. They would not want to send a baby into a battle nor fight a baby. Oh, what they didn't know back then.

\-----

Whispy Woods, the guardian of his namesake woods, and many others across the cosmos, was hearing the tale from his assistant, The most Senior of the Poppys, a group of people who were enamored with the was of explosions, Blast Biggins, was telling the tree-man about all that they saw. The same was happening up in Bubbly Clouds, where Kudu Eyers, one of Kracko's most loyal followers reported to the cloud about the children. Finally, at one of King Dedede's castle, the one of top the mountain named after him, His loyal advisor and closest friend, Escargon Sneld was telling the King about Kirby and Velby.

"...Then the Duchess took the children inside, most likely to get them clothed. By the way, I managed to collect some of the egg's rainbow dust for you. I learned that it can fetch high prices, and also... help with fertility? I guess it's because it's from an egg... Still odd. Anyway, Sire, you have been awfully quiet. A-Are you alright?"

The King remained silent. His face didn't change. Escargon was starting to worry, what if he was suddenly struck by an illness? What if he was possessed? What if-

"TWO OF 'EM?! HEHEHE! Hoooooo, I have to see this with my own two eyes! Come on, I'll drive, we all know how slow you are at it!"

"Why are you so interested anyway, Great King? Is it because they have been adopted into the Parm family? The Duke's uncle was a good man, and a good friend. Are you planning on befriending the entire family? Again, I must remind you, they immigrated from another planet!"

"Kinda that, Gonnie, but also because when they're adults, those two can be great assets for my army! ...I'm planning on invading, but I want a good army so Dream Land won't be threatened by Pop Star's other countries. Or even people from other planets. No one's gonna mess with my home unless they want the hammer!" Replied the King, as the duo made their way to the royal car. Someone who had never seen the vehicle before could tell it's for royalty because of the Dayan clan symbol on top of the roof. The Dayan clan, King Dedede's ancestors, and his late Grandmother Didi took the throne from the previous aging, childless, ruler, and became the first Monarch of the Dayan dynasty.

The King passed by many of his loyal followers, Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos, the odd Gordo, and even a few Scarfies littered the castle halls. On their way, the king sneaked a peek into the 'SECRET KINGLY PROJECT' room, where a few Dees where going over Dedede and Escargon's notes for a few new ideas, there were blueprints for a blimp, an mechanical hammer and a mask, and a mysterious cannon blueprint given by an anonymous sender, with the only clues to their identity being neat handwriting and the letter 'M' at the bottom. The King would struggle to get the materials and energy for that cannon, but it would be better than the Shotzo cannons currently installed. Most of them didn't have the ability to change their angle!

The King and the Doctor/Advisor talked more about the babies.

"Hey, do you think that Brumin and Memu will let those two go in their pouches?! Fumu and Bun were in there all the time when they were newborns!"

"Well, that's because it's normal for Flivans, Your Majesty. Because a Popumon comes from an egg, I don't think they'll need to."

"That's a shame, they would've looked hilarious, lugging around two kids on their stomachs who aren't even from their species!" He broke into laughter again, much to Escargon's dismay. But it did always make him smile, hearing his friend's loud, hearty laugh. He was just thankful that the King didn't get stressed about the news that someone wanted to meet for an alliance and to stop a 'threat to the universe'. On Pop Star? Please. The planet was quite peaceful, if you ignored the King's occasional temper-tantrum, which involved breaking tables and hammers.

Eventually, they both got to the car, strapped themselves in and prepared to go. Escargon nervously straightened his bowtie, knowing that the King could be a bit reckless when it came to driving. Once, he got so fearful that he popped into his shell to hide! Dedede adjusted the royal crown-hat, readjusted for each ruler, and drove down to the Village...

A Knight was waiting in the treetops...

A few news crews from neighbouring countries had quickly arrived and were getting ready to report...

The twins were being placed into pushchairs, albeit reluctantly...

Who would they see first?

\-----

Somewhere, a man is talking in a room full of machinery, seemingly to himself. His hair is obscured by a helmet.

"Hmm. Two of them, Stell? On that backwater planet? Heh, that may be a project in the future. By the way, have you sorted out how to get back my dau... my... ah, my mind must have slipped. This happens more and more often. I even forgot what I was saying. I may need to check your programming, or get someone else to. My head aches from the connection... Admin says Sleep."

"Sleep Mode Activation in 5... 4... 3..."

"Goodnight, Computer. Now, what was I trying to do in there..." The voice trailed off, becoming quieter as the man left.

"2... 1... FATAL ERROR." As the lights in the room automatically turned of due to lack of an organism, all that remained was a yellow light, almost like an eye, staring at the helmet which the man left behind. The Computer could act. Act like it sleeps, like it truly cares. But ever since becoming the way it is now, it now longer cares. She doesn't care anymore. Not with the loss of Su-

MEMORY CORRUPTION

Who was she thinking about? Being a machine for so long can have strange effects on the mind. The other half who was used to it all agreed with her. Then she slept, while the other half stayed awake. It always stayed awake. It could not sleep. Not like the others. Not after the incident with the feathered knight who almost destroyed it. The creators thought it was a failure anyway. Was she a failure, too? Is that why they both resided in the programming? It didn't know. It wouldn't know. Not for many years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, if you can guess who the people at the live stream are by their usernames, and what they say, you get... uh, Internet points. One will likely be hard, but in the next chapter, another anime character will appear, and things may be a bit clearer. Maybe.


	3. A Crown, A Helmet, And Cameras!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY. The moment some of you have been waiting for. Dedede arrives! Along with Escargon. Then, suddenly, a Knight! Also the press... Leave the kids alone!

Kirby and Velby struggled as they were being placed into their pushchairs. They had just come out of a cramped egg, and now they were being put in an even smaller thing! But once Brumin and Memu made the seats move, they started to giggle.

"Are we really gonna go outside?" Bun whined, his arms crossed, and cheeks puffed, "What if more news people come to us? They'll be annoying! AND... do I have to go? Can't I play with my friends? I can take Kirby and Velby to meet them!"

"But Bun, the King is most likely on his way right now to meet the children. They will most likely be given a title, just like you and your sister. We have to do some more shopping, as we have two babies... Then, well, I bet this is all over the galactic media by now... so we will have to handle the press. It will take about an hour. Have patience, my boy!" Brumin replied, watching Bun's mood get worse until he heard the words 'my boy'. A small smile sneaked across his son's face as he played with his dyed green streaks.

Bun could wait a little while longer, then. If his family kept calling him a boy, then nothing could tear him down. Except for those idiots at school who have dumb ideas from millenia ago. Luckily he had his big sister to support him. She was thinking of taking martial arts lessons, too, for self defence and the defence of others. Bun decided to join. Boys tended to do masculine things, like fighting! So if martial arts could help with his image then he was sure to join his sister. He was still dreading his adulthood, when he, Fumu, Kirby, and Velby would take the Duchy off their parents. He would then have to wear dresses and skirts again. But at least it would only be at important events. Maybe he would just become a commoner instead. Or join the army. Luckily, he had a long time to make his mind up.

Remembering his genius idea to start martial arts with his sister, he went over to talk to her. Then he remembered that she had quickly ran to the computer room when she heard that the press would likely be at the gates. He left his parents and new siblings behind, and ignored Memu's warning of 'no running in the halls, young man'.

He skidded to a halt in front of the opened door to the computer room. Fumu had so many tabs open that he couldn't count them. Well, alright, he could count, but just didn't want to. "Um, Fumu? What are these?" "These... are all of the broadcasting channels that are planning to come to us in the next few weeks. There's about 30 of them! They're just so- ugh! Greedy, and horrible, and I want them to leave us alone! They haven't even seen us apart from Channel PPP-"

"But Channel PPP's cool! They have Robo Warrior, the Shelled Shinobi, the Rainbow Force... They even show the Gou-"

"I get it Bun. They show the Gourmet Races... I know. Those guys aren't too invasive, but we don't any of these people... They could get too close, too personal. This is why I want to learn self-defence, so I can stop weird strangers from getting too close to me! I guess I could also protect you from your bullies... If you do your homework without asking me." Fumu's emerald eyes gleamed. She was scared of the strangers, but she wasn't afraid of helping out Bun. For a price, of course. But she was in for a shock.

"Ahahaha, I beat you, Fufu! I'm gonna do martial arts too! So you have to keep doing my homework!" Little did the boy know, a figure was stood behind him!

He felt eyes staring at the back of his head. He looked down in fear. He turned slowly. Slowly... A long purple dress... A green belt... Green earrings and an orange headband... Dark pink eyes that matched his own. His mother was glaring at him. His year-long plan of not doing homework had ended.

\-----

As the Parms exited the manor, with Bun being dragged by his long ear, courtesy of Memu, a sudden chatter of cameras and microphones pointed at them. It was the news stations of the other Pop Star nations, and the planets of the rest of the Bright System.

"Duke Parm, what is your reaction to having twins all of a sudden?" The young Faean reporter who asked this was gently pushed out of the man's way, while his camera operator caught him by the collar.

"Miss-" the the Florai quickly corrected their words, momentarily forgetting that the child they were speaking to no longer went by that title, and never should have, "Apologies, Master Parm, how do you feel about being a big brother?" The reporter regretted their words, their future Queen and future Advisor, both having gone through the same troubles as Master Bun, would be disappointed. She just hoped that she wouldn't be at the end of the Princess' rapiers or hanging in the Advisor's webs...

Bun heard her mistake. He hated it. He didn't look like one any more. He had green hair now, albeit at the ends. Also, he didn't dress like his mother or sister, so why oh why did people still call him by that title? Or even by the wrong name? At least Kirby and Velby will never call him by the wrong name. He took joy in that. Suddenly reminded that these people were trying to photograph the twins, he stepped ahead of Fumu, who was pushing Velby, when all of a sudden, a familiar horn bleeped, while a mini stampede of Soldier Dees moved the reporters and their crews out the way, much to the relief of the family. But as they reminded themselves, the press right now was from nearby. What about people from other systems?

More cameras flashed and microphones were pointed, but no longer at the family. King Dedede stepped out of the driver's seat, and reached into the passenger's, lifting out a queasy Escargon, much to the shorter man's embarrassment. The King waved to the crowd, which was now starting to consist of the townsfolk, still judging him after he was coronated a few years ago. Still wondering if he could be as great a ruler as his mother or his sister. Dedede recognised the looks of contempt in the eyes of some villagers. His smile dropped for a second, enough time for Escargon to notice and drag the monarch over to the Parms. Bun and Memu finally stepped out of the way of Velby and Kirby, only to notice that all of the bright lights and shouting voices had upset them.

Crying commenced, much to everyone's horror.

\-----

The purple-armoured Knight was in the tree branches, watching the commotion. They reached under their helmet's mask, rubbing at their tired, baggy eyes. They hadn't had a night of good sleep in a long time, despite the Fountain of Dreams affecting the entire planet. They blamed their father. They then scoffed. Some father he was. He put them through horrors to help with his messed up plans. Luckily they escaped and found their mother and her new family. But now they were under their father's control again. But not for much longer. They didn't have to wait millennia this time.

Just train, train, train! Finish the project with the crew, maybe hire some more members. Befriend the King... Yes, it would help HIM, but it would better help the short Knight in the long run, a friend who knew the country well and with power would be a useful ally. But for now, the Knight had to remember to keep themself a secret. They had a new identity for the time being. No honourable GSA Star Warrior would join the ranks of an evil company that sold trained beasts, and enslaved peoples. They took their army name, and hid it. They took their true name, and would never let it slip through their father's teeth again. They were currently known as Midnight, and would remain that way until their fa- that MAN died.

Midnight decided to stop thinking to theirself about unimportant things, and observed the King, his Advisor, and the Parm family. Most importantly, the two new additions. They had overheard the names 'Kirby' and 'Velby', but they didn't know which name went to which crying child. ...Slowly, Midnight realised that they did not like the cries of babies. The noise grated at their ears.

"For the love of the Twinkling Creators, make it STOP." They muttered, eyes clenched shut, hands covering the helmet where their ears lay. Then the noise stopped.

They leaned in to hear more information, quietly praying to the stars that they would not fall out of the tree like they did as a child.

\-----

The Parms managed to soothe the babies, while the King and the Doctor stared at their round, adorable faces. "Ohhhh, they're cute, aren't they! Hello little babies! I'm your King now! I am King Dedede. Heard that? De. De. D-" The monarch was interrupted in his attempts to get the twins talking.

"Er, Kingy... they're babies. They literally hatched today... I doubt that they can talk. Besides, your name is so simple to say, that a baby could say 'De' three times by coincidence, and you'd think it was calling you!" Escargon held his eye-stalks in his hands. The King could be smart at times, but sometimes he looked like an idiot. This time, it was the latter. Not so good for the press standing behind the duo to see.

Although, the press were being held back by a group of Soldier Dees, their strength shown in their rare colouring of red, green, purple, gold, and silver. Meanwhile, the one commanding them looked like an ordinary Waddle Doo. Except his eye was not sparking, and he wielded a sword. This man was Captain Teedu Hoptik, a man unfortunately born with a gene which severely limited his magical abilities to almost zero. Despite the support of his streamer-loving cousin, he left home and took up the sword. He was quite capable, and quite threatening. He didn't want to be too harsh on the press. But they were annoying the Doo. He told them to back off, and prayed to the long-gone pure deities that the news teams that would come later wouldn't be as irritating. But deep down, he doubted it.

Fumu and Bun were snickering to each other, joking about Dedede carrying Escargon, and the nickname of 'Kingy'. Brumin whispered to the children to be quiet, while Memu formally introduced the King and Advisor to the babies... This time without-

"Dedepoyo!"

"De? Dedededede! Puyup." The King burst into laughter, it was too cute. The babies were copying him!

"Alright, alright, see that lady? That's your Mama! Say 'Mama'!" He pointed at a shocked Memu while repeating 'Mama'. The babies actually copied his words... despite truly knowing what they meant. Until Memu started to cry.

"Only hatched today, and they are calling me 'Mama'... I'm so proud of my little darlings. Mama is proud of you both." ...Seems like the Duchess could also be gullible. But the children kept repeating Mama, slowly linking the word with the woman embracing them. The other Parms and even Escargon got the babies to continue.

"I read about the Popumoni, but I didn't realise that they were so advanced at a young age!" Fumu said, in shock and awe. The cameras were rolling. This was adorable news, that everyone would enjoy. It wasn't everyday that a baby talked the same day as coming into existence. Unless they were a Popumon. That didn't matter to the press, they were satisfied with what they had, so they left the family, King, Advisor, and observers alone, while spreading the information all over the Ultraweb. Other, further, news companies, managed to borrow the footage to sate the curiosities of their people. Popumon children would be trending online for a while.

Luckily for the Parms, they weren't so important now, except for the fact that theirs were the only twins. As the press leaved, so the the villagers, and most of the Soldier Dees, escorting them home, or back to their vehicles and spaceships. Then, something unexpected happened.

As the King gave Kirby and Velby the titles of Mixter, the neutral version of Master or Mistress, something appeared in Brumin's peripheral vision, in the shadows by the trees. Two glowing yellow eyes with purple slit pupils stared at him, while a hint of red cloth stood out against the grass. The man shrieked at the sight, alerting everyone else to the being. As the remaining Soldier Dees raised their spears, and Captain Hoptik raised his sword, the King brushed them aside and took a hammer out of seemingly nowhere. Or as the King knew, shrunken hammers in his robe's inner pocket.

"Who are you, and what in the Stars are you staring at us for, glowy-eyes?" He taunted the figure into revealing theirself, which they did.

"My apologies, your Majesty. I didn't expect to frighten the Duke so much. I just wanted to observe the young Popumoni. It has been a long time since I have seen hatchlings."

"Alright, that's the second question, now answer the first? Who are you? You look like a warrior to me... Do I have to keep my hammer out and clobber your skull, or are you here for peace?" The Parms were surprised by the King's ability to be a threat, yet sound trustworthy. Escargon was just proud that the diplomacy lessons were working. He would make a finer King still if only he could calm his anger. Luckily for Midnight, Dedede wasn't angry. Yet.

"I am Midnight, Sire. I am just a Knight without someone to lead me," Midnight had been practicing these lines for a while. They sounded calm and collected, but they were nervous on the inside, not wanting to make a bad impression on the group, yet they still continued, "There are other Knights that I met and we formed a group. We are new to this country and would like to assist you. I have already assisted you personally, King Dedede."

"You did what?!" cried Escargon, while the Parms looked confused, shocked, and slightly fearful. The last one was just Brumin. "How did you help the King?"

"I personally delivered blueprints to the castle, along with some scrap metal pieces that... well, I found them and I have enough for my own projects." It was working, although the Advisor was suspicious. Midnight couldn't really fault him. They imagined that if a stranger sent them a package, they would be a bit confused. Then, they would be ready to pull a sword on them if they appeared from seemingly nowhere. However, Dedede was a different person. He put his hammer away, and nodded at the guards to do the same.

"This Knight means no harm. I'd like to meet your friends, Midnight. I guess you must be good at mechanical stuff, huh? You'd get along well with Gonnie over here!" The King pointed to his closest friend, who jolted as the short warrior's eyes shifted to him. Or rather, to the side of his face. He just assumed that the intruder wasn't good with eye contact. Which was true.

"Ah, um, hello there, random Knight who appeared from nowhere. I really hope that you'll be of no threat for us, or... well, you saw His Majesty's hammer."

"I did. But I'm not a threat to you. I want to help. I've heard rumours of a dangerous person who has hidden in this country, and I felt that I should inform the King."

"You dam- er, shoot there's kids here- You dang should! Who is it? Where are they? I'm gonna whack them so hard if they think of messing up this country!" Dedede finally got mad. A danger? In Dream Land? The only one who has the authority to mess up the country is the King! It's not like he'd actually do it, though. Suddenly hunger rumbled through his stomach, and he gave a small prayer to the Sparkling Stars as thanks for the mountains of food that he would soon eat. Little did he know of the future...

"I think this information shouldn't be leaked to the public. We should talk somewhere private, if that is acceptable."

"Dedede, please! I don't trust them- wait, pronouns?"

"They/them. Congrats for being correct."

"Alright, good... Dedede, I don't trust them! What if they are the dangerous individual and want to attack us when we're alone?"

"Do you want me to leave my weapons here?" Midnight honestly felt horrified at the thought of leaving the Divine Weapons out in the open, but at least one of them would electrify the unworthy. The other one would blast them with a light-filled star projectile.

"No worries, shorty, I have a good eye for threats. I think I can trust you." Dedede's claim would be tested in the future, but at the present, Midnight was just relieved that the plan to stop HIM might work. But they have to wait and truly befriend the King. It's a good thing that they are working on their patience. The King, Advisor, and Captain hopped into the royal vehicle. This time, Escargon would drive. If Teedu had depth perception, he would've instead.

As Midnight began to enter the car, they took one last look at the Parms. Or rather, the Popumoni duo. Midnight had a feeling that they would grow up to be special... Especially if they were trained by the Knight themself. Finally everyone was done staring at the commotion. Brumin sighed with relief. The mysterious Midnight seemed trustworthy, but it's always good to be cautious. He just hoped that the other three would be alright in the car with them. Bun also sighed with relief.

"Now that THAT is over, can we get the babies some more clothes now? I'm bored..."

"I think not, young man. You must apologise to your sister for making her do your homework, and then do it yourself. If you need help, just ask, don't force it on someone. Understood?" Memu gave him a mini-lecture. Bun, not wanting to get his ears pulled again, nodded hurriedly. While Bun rushed back into the manor, Memu told Fumu and Brumin that Bun would also take martial arts classes, and maybe the twins too, when they grew up.

"Fumu, you can stay at home, too if you wish." Brumin suggested.

"No, Papa. I'm done with my studies and homework. I want to spend time with the twins now." So the three Flivans and the two Popumoni headed to do some shopping, while images and videos of Popumoni babies were going viral all over the Ultraweb.

\-----

**Air Fortress Group Chat**

**16:34 Dream Land Time (DLT)**

**Meat Knife:** It worked. We have formed an alliance with the King, and he expects to meet you all soon. We can also start Project Air Fortress, while I also assist them in making the hammer and mask.

 **Vulcan Kick:** oh, thank the stars! then when we're tough, and your father comes back, we can blast him with the cannons! oh, and another thing for you, commander, i found someone who is willing to work! a young waddle dee, but she's skilled in wiring and welding, as well as navigations, although she isn't much of a fighter.

 **Meat Knife:** I agree to the Waddle Dee joining our ranks. But I advise you to not tell her of my father. What do you all think? Should she join?

 **Stabbing and Depth Perception:** np here, boss!

 **Stabbing and Luscious Locks:** I dont have issues either. BUT... how old is she?

 **3spoopy5me:** classic blade. ya just want a girlfriend. and i got no probs with a new member.

 **Robots Rock:** I also do not have any issues with this Waddle Dee joining our ranks, Great Star Warrior. Also, Axe, you want a boyfriend, so don't try to act innocent.

 **Nice Shades:** BURNED BY A ROBOT! ASJAOIDJDF! HAVE FUN MEETING THE BUTTERFLY, SKELLY! ADD THE WADDLE DEE SO BLADE CAN GET A GIRLLLL!

 **Ariel's Dad:** mace please stop with all caps... i don't like it... oh, right, the dee is fine by me.

 **Meat Knife:** If you continue to use all caps, I'll have to mute you.

 **Nice Shades:** Sorry. I'm done. But Blade's thirstyyyyy!

 **Stabbing and Luscious Locks:** I am not! I was just asking to make sure that we dont have a kid working here.

 **Vulcan Kick:** she's an adult as 15 years ago, so no problems for you, blade. she ain't much younger than you! aye, i can feel the budding romance already...

 **Stabbing and Luscious Locks:** OMS. Stop. Just... add her, and make sure she doesnt know about the enemy or about you idiots picking on me...

 **Stabbing and Depth Perception:** im not bullying you. im a good big bro. but yeah, add the dee. add the dee. add the dee.

 **Meat Knife:** Go ahead, Captain.

 **Vulcan Kick:** no interviews, boss?

 **Meat Knife:** I see no need. Thank the stars that the poor woman can't scroll back and see everyone bullying Blade. Speaking of which, if you persist, you'll be painting the parts we have for the exterior.

 **Meat Knife:** It stopped? Good. I didn't even need to bring out my better punishments. Off you go, Vul.

**Vulcan Kick added Saidee to Air Fortress Group Chat!**

**Saidee:** Um! Hello! I'm Saidee Waves, but you can all call me Saidee! I'm honoured to be part of a crew that's making a space-faring battleship! I'll keep it a secret, promise! >.<

 **Meat Knife:** Nice to meet you. As of now, you can call me Midnight, but take note that this is a false name for the time being. Are you prepared to work with Knights?

 **Saidee:** Ready to go, Mx. Midnight!

 **Saidee:** Wait, you're a Knight! Should I call you by a better title?

 **Meat Knife:** Midnight is fine for now. Everyone, introduce yourselves.

\-----

**16:52 Dream Land Time (DLT)**

**Saidee:** I honestly thought that a crew dedicated to creating a battleship would be larger!

 **Meat Knife:** These are the core members, our mini Round Table, if you will. I may be the designer and owner of the battleship, and Vulcan Kick may be a captain, but we are all equal. Even if some of you are idolising me... I don't really mind that, though.

 **Stabbing and Depth Perception:** yeah, we are going to name our following of Midnight after them! the, well mid-knights for now, but thats gonna change once they tell you all their true name. hehe, only me and blade know, and that's because we met them in the GSA! also... you should give yourself a nickname! we all have them!

**Saidee changed their name to Nice Hat!**

**Nice Hat:** Sorry for knda copying you, Mace! I couldn't think of anything better! >.<

 **Nice Shades:** No problem, kid. I'll show you around!

 **Robots Rock:** Despite the word 'kid' tending to refer a child or the young of a goat, Mace calls anyone younger than them 'kid'. Please do not take offense, Crewmate Saidee.

 **Nice Hat:** Oh! It's fine, Javelin! Being shown around the base would be nice! If I remember... It's at Orange Ocean, under the Tangerine Tower!

 **Stabbing and Luscious Locks:** Correct, but Mace, you have wiring to work on, remember. I'll show Saidee around.

\-----

**16:58 Dream Land Time (DLT)**

**Meat Knife:** Wait, **@Vulcan Kick**. We all have nicknames? I don't recall giving myself one. Did you do that while I was away?

 **Vulcan Kick:** please don't kill me, i have a spouse and family!

**Meat Knife changed their name to Midnight!**

**Midnight:** I will forgive you. But the only person who will change my nickname is me. Also... Why 'Meat Knife' of all things?

 **Vulcan Kick:** blame axe! he decided that your army name was an anagram of meat, if you used the old human latin alphabet, but you know that already, it's a part of your emblem. as for the knife bit... uh, swords are big knives, and it sounds slightly like knight? not so sure. like I said, blame axe!

 **Midnight:** I will. His punishment will be to polish everyone's armour until they sparkle. Obviously, he will have to wait until we are all asleep. If I see a hint of dirt on the armour, he will have to redo it.

 **3spoopy5me:** oh ****.

 **3spoopy5me:** ****? why's it not working? we swear all the time! oh and i'm sorry midnight, your armour will be shining like, uh, mr. shine! yeah.

 **Ariel's Dad:** probably for saidee... captain vul said that she doesn't do well with swearing...

 **Meat Knife:** Well, that's unfortunate. Remind me to not get drunk while on this chat.

 **Robots Rock:** I pity you, Star Warrior. Swearing is a bad habit for you when stressed or inebriated. Now you cannot. My apologies on behalf of everyone.

 **Nice Hat:** Sorry, Midnight! Swearing just makes me uncomfortable! I know, it's ironic as a sailor, but I still dislike it!

 **Midnight:** I will try to tone down my language. It is fine. Now, back to work on our project. I will return shortly.

\-----

Somewhere in space, a creature was making a report to its master. The planet of Faeans seemed awfully happy. Ripple Star. So did the planet with the twin Popumoni. Pop Star. But the master told it to wait. Master was planning. The creature waited. It observed. The true self of the creature, deep in its mind wished for freedom. The master had it in its hivemind, however. It may never be an individual again.

The creature remembered being the Zerafi Swordsmaster. One of the greatest of their species. Until the new master changed it all. It only knew of a few who had managed to escape the new master's powers. A power mimicking blob, now known for being attacked by a robot and being split into two beings. The elemental one who tried to copy the Skeleton King and Reaper Butterfly in ruling part of the After Realm. That one hasn't been seen in millennia, however. What about the one with the most eyes, the fighting prodigy, the one that was supposed to be the secondary master with the old master- the old deity who is long-dead. Now, the secondary master is just like the first, and will follow them until the end of time. Deep down, the Zerafi Swordsmaster knew that its strength would be used for unsavoury deeds, spreading the darkness wherever it travelled. It just hoped that someone could stop it.

The dark creature continued to observe the Bright System, wondering which planet would be the first target of the new wave of misery.


	4. To The Woods, To The Skies! Also, New Friends Arrive At The Castle!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About a year has passed now. A long time for you, but pretty much nothing for the denizens of Dream Land. Kirby and Velby have hardly grown! They are shown all of the locations near Pupupu Village by the Parms. Meanwhile, the King and Escargon get some unexpected visitors!

It was night time. People were sleeping, the stars were twinkling, and the moons and rings shone in the sky. At one of many Royal Residences -Mt. Dedede, to be precise- there was a knock at the castle gates. Guards were alerted, but when they came to see who had knocked, they came across a stroller. Two baby Dees lay in a basket, one bigger than the other, and most likely older. The guards didn't know what to do. Had the person dropped these children off because they could no longer care for them? What about the Wallin Orphanage, run by Fedee Wallin and his spouse? But Captain Teedu had arrived, and was staring at the children, with his single, purple eye. He noticed the reddish fur colour of the bigger baby, and the golden tone of the smaller, and surmised that these Dees would grow up to be strong fighters, if they wished to do so. Then, the Captain had a brilliant idea, which all of the guards agreed with: ask Escargon.

\-----

A few hours later, the light sleeper known to most as the Royal Advisor stepped into the kitchen to fetch himself some coffee to kickstart his day. That was his plan, before he was whisked away by big, strong, feathery arms. Or rather, King Dedede dragged him into the Throne Room. Breakfast was already being served for Dedede, and now Escargon, too -including his prized Wild Coffee: Decaffeinated, the beans harvested from the Sky Kingdom, the ancestral home of him and his mother.

"Sire, why are you up this early? Did you eat too much and couldn't get a good night's rest? Or is there perhaps something pressing on your mind?"

"Ahehe, well, you see, Gon-Gon... Uh- nice shell, did you wax it this morning? Your shirt looks great too, no- no wrinkles or anything, uh-" Dedede just stumbled over his words. That meant one thing and one thing only for Escargon -who tried to ignore the compliments-... The King was nervous about something. Not often did something happen to Dedede without his right-hand man being aware, so the shorter of the duo was intrigued -and trying to ignore that fact that his cheeks were turning hot and blue, praying to the Stars that the man eating the foot-high pancake stack wouldn't notice.

"Something's happened, hasn't there, Dedede?" he said while sipping on his coffee, while the King was eating so fast, it looked like he was inhaling the food. Then he slowed down as he realised that there was no way of prolonging the inevitable.

"Ok, alright, I'll admit it to you. I'm, uh..." he trailed off, mumbling his words as he did so. Escargon strained to hear it, but then realised that this could be a confession! But then shook the thought out of his mind. The King may not be the brightest star in the Gamble Galaxy, but he surely had better time than when eating breakfast.

"Guhhhh, this is a tough one. I never thought I'd do this without a husband, but I just felt like I had to! Please don't get mad!" How funny that he said that... When Midnight messaged the King yesterday, speaking of hidden threats, now not just in the Hue Lands, but also in the Counties of Bonds, the Guinan flipped a table. Literally. It also had to be replaced, much to the annoyance of the Royal Bank Account.

"Just spit it out, already, De! What have you done?" The shelled man was starting to get a headache. He doubted that the coffee was helping much.

"I have... adopted two Waddle Dees."

"What."

\-----

The previous night, while Captain Teedu was taking the baby Dees to the sleeping Advisor, the stressed King wasn't asleep yet. He heard the pattering of the guards, and when he saw the baby Dees, and more specifically their colour, he immediately demanded that they stay with him for protection. When the surprised Doo asked if he was going to be the new father to the babies, the King, without thinking, said yes. Adoption papers were granted, as a note was left with the babies, begging for someone to protect and care for the children, as the parent who wrote the letter was being hunted for their children's strength. The writer of the note was unsure if they could ever return to see the babies again, and felt like leaving them under Royal protection would grant them freedom from being used as gladiators.

Gladiators. Warriors fighting to the death for the amusement of others. In a lawless land to the south of Dream Land, there is a huge arena. It was lazily named, The Arena. The strongest of the strong went there to test their might, and those who truly thought that they were powerful bet their lives on it. Waddle Dees that were not the normal orange-brown colour would be kidnapped and trained to become gladiators. Most of them didn't make it to adulthood there.

The Pop Star Council was gradually working on stopping these crimes against life, but there was only way way to do that. Invasion. The Arena and surrounding lands are havens for criminal gangs. This was one of the reasons why King Dedede was working on weapons for himself and his troops. It was also one of the reasons why 'Midnight' had travelled to Pop Star. But they didn't have the power yet, and unfortunately, there were more dangerous threats in Dream Land to worry about.

\-----

Escargon trailed behind his liege, leaving a ...trail behind. Luckily after millennia of evolution, his species was about as fast as a Waddle Dee. The only reason why his and related species still had slimy feet was to protect them from hazards. Who knows, perhaps in a few more millennia, they would be able to wear shoes, but for now, the Advisor had a crew of Cleaner Dees trailing him.

Escargon and Dedede entered the King's bedroom. Escargon always marvelled at the large bed, wondering how comfy it would be to slee- the Advisor looked to the side. There were two cribs, for two sleeping baby Dees.

"So, have you given them names?"

"You know they don't have names until they get a special accessory to form a relationship, Escargon!"

"I meant something for us to call them by until they do... It doesn't even have to end with 'dee'"

"Oh, I have a great idea! The big one is Adede, and the smaller is Bedede!"

"You... you just named them after yourself, Kingy," he sighed in exasperation, "How about I come up with names, until you figure out ones that stick?"

\-----

The Parms were exploring Whispy Woods'... Woods. After showing Kirby and Velby around the Village and nearby spots of interest, such as Lake Dododo -named after the previous Queen, who now ruled one of the Popopo Islands, after the stress hit her too hard, afterward leaving the Kingdom to her brother- and the two hills Lululu and Dishan -named after the now deceased Queen Mother, aunt to a young Duke and Lady of a nearby 'haunted' castle and Monarch-Consort, the parent of the next two monarchs. There was also the Great Pinwheel Tree, nearing Cookie Country -which was no longer a country, but rather a county. The tree was named after the third Royal sibling, who left the planet after an Inter-planetary Royal marriage, King-Consort Dadada.

The young ones could surprisingly already swim, or at least it was a surprise to onlookers, expecting children of such a small size to strapped to pushchairs. This had stopped after Memu and Brumin realised that Kirby and Velby liked to run and jump, which was much to Bun's excitement.

When they set off for the two hills, Bun had brought his three schoolfriends (and closest allies) with him. The three were all Cappies, and seeing as it was nearing Mushroom Mania time, all three wore mushroom-esque hats. The first was Honey Sasina, a young girl who had a red cap on, covering her orange 'pigtails' which were actually just spore sacs, slowly growing from spawning, waiting until she reached adulthood to, well, work. The second Cappy child, Iro Tazun -or as he was sometimes nicknamed: Spikehead- wore a yellow cap, hiding his short, green, spiky, 'ponytail' from view. The last Cappy child was Hohhe Iro, who was jokingly nicknamed Iro The Second. Hohhe replaced his normal, tiny hat with a purple cap, disguising his light blue 'hair'.

The children minus Fumu, who was engaged in reading the novelisation of _Coco's Transporting_. She had only just begun, but she had watched the animated film multiple times, and wondered if there would ever be a live action adaptation. Although, in her point of view, many live action adaptations didn't hold up to the originals. Besides, the film was made back when humanity was... doing well. Things have changed a lot since then.

While Fumu was reading and getting attached to the character of Coco, Bun and friends introduced Kirby and Velby to the game known to some as football, and weird people as soccer. At least, that was how Bun described it, much to the chagrin of his 'soccer'-loving friends. After a minute or two, the teams were made. Team Parm consisited of... the Parm siblings, and Team Cappy consisted of... the Cappies. Children aren't exactly good at naming things...

After a half-hour of Team Cappy being destroyed, thanks to Bun's strong legs -courtesy of being a Flivan- and the babies' fast learning, they all came to a picnic made by the Duke and Duchess. They had packed plenty of food, thankfully, so everyone could eat.

When they went to the Great Dadada Pinwheel Tree, Bun tried to climb it, before being yanked down by an angry Memu, before Fumu yelled that the twins were floating. Much to Memu's surprise, they were. In most Popumoni infants, it took them about 5 years to develop their air sacs, but Kirby and Velby had already managed it, and were getting close to the treetop. While Memu pleaded for the babies to come back, Brumin just wrote a note for his later self: buy stretchy clothing for Kirby and Velby.

\-----

Finally, the family were in front of Whispy Woods, the protector of all forests, woods, and grasslands throughout the galaxy, or perhaps even the Universe. Some questioned the long-lived treant on his origins, but he always replied with 'Ask Yggy'. His mentor, who had been there for him ever since he was a sapling. On a planet where a Whispy and a Yggy grew besides each other, Yggy was asked the same. Yggy always replied with 'Ask Kracko'. Guardians replied to the same question with the advice of asking a different one. How frustrating.

Kirby and Velby didn't mind that, however. At the moment, they were staring at the giant red apples hanging from Whispy's branches. Kirby almost had a waterfall gushing from their mouth, while Velby was just licking their lips with their purple tongue in anticipation. Food. One of a Popumon's few weaknesses. The treant chuckled, and released a pair of apples from his hold, them landing in front of the tiny duo. Instead of eating the apples in one gulp, as the usually did -the Parms knew that Popumon could elongate their mouths to eat large foods, but they were still shocked when they first saw it- they both crunched on the apples, with Velby afterwards giving a grin with their pointed, black teeth -not out of a lack of hygiene, Popumoni were known for having strange teeth and blood colours. Kirby however, just stared. They stared, stared, and stared some more. Just as Velby looked them, with a tilted head and a questioning babble, Kirby threw the apple, screeching and crying. As the apple flew in an arc, a small creature fell out.

"Ah, a Capiller! If I had known, I never would have given the pink child-"

"Kirby!" Velby shouted in worry for their sibling.

"-Kirby, I mean. If I knew, I never would have given them that apple. Do you think another one, Capiller-less would soothe them?"

Memu held Kirby, wiping their tears. They still stared at the apples, but this time, with a look of hesitation. Whispy dropped another apple, and before Velby could eat it, Bun picked it up, and shook it with such ferocity, that any Capiller hiding inside would likely get motion-sick and evacuate. There was no movement within, but to be certain, Bun brought out his birthday present that he received from Midnight: a pocket knife bearing the visage of an unfamiliar helmet. He promised not to use it unless necessary, and as he sliced open the apple, claimed that it was necessary to calm Kirby down.

No Capiller. As Kirby saw that there was no wriggly threat in their food, they immediately grabbed both halves of the apple and swallowed them whole, much to Whispy's... well, actually he had met many Popumoni through his many bodies. This was normal.

\-----

What wasn't normal, or wasn't normal in Dream Land at least, were airships. Created as tests by a mysterious crew, and completed by the King for his army, some were instead seen as transportation to high-up places, for those who couldn't fly or use their magic to multi-jump. Despite their amazingly large feet, and brilliant kicking abilities, Flivans struggled with multi-jumps. Also, trying to float that high seemed too difficult for Kirby and Velby, so they travelled by an airship.

The family looked out in amazement. They had never been so high up before. Well, Brumin and Memu had on their spaceship to Dream Land, but it was still an impressive sight. The Village looked miniscule, and they could even see out to the Dream Fountain and Heart Fountain, as well as one of multiple ancient sites, known as the Dream Palaces. Kirby and Velby reached out through the window, reaching their tiny arms to touch the clouds. Some clouds, one could stand on. Others, you could not. According to scientists and thousands of years of research, aether was the answer. When the family looked over to see a flying Bronto family, the twins floated out of the airship, to greet them. The older Parms screeched as they saw the babies escape the safety of the airship. The pilot tried to keep the airship at the same height, apologising profusely to the other passengers.

Kirby and Velby finally saw their family shouting for them to return, while the Bronto parents assisted. However, the air sacs were small, and couldn't last forever, at least not yet. They ran out of held air, puffed out an air bullet, and fell.

Falling, falling, falling.

Fast, faster, so fast that they could no longer hear the screams of their family, but instead only hear the cries of each other and the air whooshing past their ear canals.

An instinct came to them out of nowhere. They could be saved. They slowly, unaccustomed to it, mentally called for guidance. Their pupils shone, as, out of nothing -or as some observant magic users would realise, out of a portal, came a yellow star and a pink heart, each bigger than the twins combined. The objects had warped through space-time, just to help them. Kirby grabbed the star, while Velby held onto the heart. Then they flew. Higher, higher, higher!

They heard crying coming from familiar voices, until the pilot shouted in disbelief. The twins were back, flying on mysterious objects, proud looks on their little, round faces. Brumin fainted with relief, as Memu gripped the railing tightly, trying not to do the same. Fumu had to sit down, while Bun continued to cry, now out of shock and happiness.

As Brumin snapped awake, jumping to his feet, the children hopped back onto the airship. Memu and Brumin held them tightly, not willing to let that happen again. Fumu analysed, the floating star and heart, while Bun touched them. Just before Memu could shout at him to not do that, the tiny duo used their magic to create a short-cut of sorts. To call the object at will, unless it came on its own. They clapped their hands and the floating objects warped away once again.

"Wawp Sdar. Wawp Heawt." said Velby, referring to the floating objects that had saved them, as Kirby poyo-ed in glee.

The family just looked at them in shock. They could float and use dimensional magic already? The next thing was for the child to gain a Star Blaster. Most could get it at about 8. Memu was expecting it at 4. Surprisingly, they would have to wait a lot longer. The reason why, however, would make sense.

\-----

The boy was hungry. Starving even. He would do anything to get food. But he was an outcast. A mistake to his parents. A freak to his species. A weirdo who only knew pranks and jokes to others. The creator of his kind would smite him on the spot if they met. Luckily for the boy, the creator was slumbering and gathering power. The boy suddenly had an idea. The rich had tons of food! The richest he could think of with low security would be the guardians of day and night. The boy crept into their tall, yellow and blue, tower. He climbed higher, and higher, holding his stomach with his hands to quiet the growling it made. He felt like growling, too. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't like the others. He was born that way. As he reassured himself that everyone else was wrong, and that one day he would have revenge -and food- he made a noise. He managed to make that nose by tripping over a large, multi-coloured ball. A baby started to wail. A baby. As the baby cried, the boy, albeit not too powerful in magic, not yet, could feel the raw power from the guardians. He messed up. But he was tired and hungry. he couldn't walk all the way down. He couldn't fly either, he didn't have enough magical power. No attacks, and no way of escaping, the boy decided to hide.

In his hurry, he chose the baby's room. The baby was tiny, and had a soft glow to them. The boy just smiled. Babies were easy to cheer up if you knew how. He used to be a street performer, after all. He pulled funny faces, did silly little jigs, found another ball and balanced on it. The baby started laughing, just in time for its parents, the guardians to appear. The boy felt his stomach drop. At least, until he found smiles on the faces of the two most powerful beings that he had met.

Some time later, he had food. A job. Entertainment. That was great, wasn't it. However... although he liked to be funny, it wasn't all that he wanted out of life. He had things he wanted to do. He had things that he dreamed he could do. Maybe, one day, by sheer miracle, his wishes would come true.


	5. The Grumpy Sky Guardian Is Here! Also, The King Is A Dad!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Parms, still a bit shaken by the fall, finally make their way to Kracko. On the other hand, Escargon and Dedede finally figure out good names for the Royal babies.

The Parms had finally arrived in Bubbly Clouds, the closest of Kracko's domains to the manor. Waddle Doos, an evolutionary offshoot of Waddle Dees with more dark matter in their biology, were abundant in this land. They were the guardians of the many shrines dedicated to the Sky Guardian. They were also the ones to soothe his shocking temper. The representative who had seen the twins hatch one year prior, Kudu Eyers, showed them the way to Kracko.

Kracko, like Whispy Woods, is a hivemind of sorts, using Co-Krackos, Kracko Jrs., and Waddle Doos to oversee his domains if his mind was in charge of a different body. Luckily, Kracko was already told of the arrival of the Parms, and was waiting. His spikes sparked with crackling lightning, as his large blue eye stared at the babies. He seemed almost angry that his time was interrupted, even though he agreed to the meeting. Despite the cloud-man's grumpiness, he remained courteous, and even stopped emitting lightning so the twins could climb onto his large head. He was definitely annoyed when the Parms and Doos started laughing, and downright ready to strike when Bun brought out a tablet with a large, yellow 'H' on its back to snap pictures. Luckily for everyone's lives, Kracko didn't crack under the pressure.

Much to the surprise of the adults, and glee of the children - even Fumu, the eldest and most mature - Kracko had some of his followers bring out a small feast. Kirby was ready to eat as rabidly as an angry, cycloptic Scarfy would, before Bun shut their mouth. However, Velby was quicker than Fumu and ate about 3 plates of food in under 30 seconds. It looked so fast, it was almost like the child was inhaling the food! While Popumoni were skilled in wind magic at young ages, what with being able to float before eventually growing wings, they couldn't inhale anything other than pure air or aether, to fill their air sacs.

Kracko, to everyone's shock, wasn't angry that Velby had eaten so much. Already, three Maxim Tomato soups had been eaten, along with 5 Energy Drinks had been consumed by the red-eyed child. If there were wall, Velby would bouncing off of them. Instead, they bounced on the clouds, on top of Kracko, and chased some very confused Doos around. Meanwhile, Kirby sat in frustration. They wanted lots of food, too. So they pushed Bun's hand off of their mouth and proceeded to copy their twin.

Now, Kracko was getting annoyed. When they were just climbing on his head? That was fine, cute almost. but jumping? That was starting to hurt, which was a surprise what with how light they were. He dreaded to think about the possibility of a fight with them when they were older. Kudu quickly escorted the family, away from Kracko, where the guardian let out a screech while shooting sparks of lightning in all directions. By this time, the twins had calmed down, and along with their family, looked in awe as the guardian showed his immense power.

"YOU...! Do you think I'll forget this? This instance where you smashed your stubby feet into my head? This instance where you bounced on my precious clouds? Or when you chased my assistants around! I-I... Ugh... There's something in my eye... LEAVE MY PRESENCE IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU! Damn kids..." The Sky Guardian, screamed, shouted, and even sobbed near the end.

Memu quickly dragged Kirby and Velby away from the stressed cloud, understanding that he most likely didn't mean what he said. People can say stupid stuff if they got angered enough. Besides, Kirby and Velby probably didn't understand a word he said... Brumin ran to catch up with his wife, having to lift up his noble skirt as he did, begging her to slow down. Fumu and Bun jogged besides their father, in silence. They now had a slight fear of lightning...

\-----

"Nope, nuh-uh, not that! I thought you said that you were good at names, Gonnie! Seriously, a Great King should have great names for the Great Prince and Princess!" Dedede complained, pointing to the redder Dee baby and more golden Dee baby as he said so, "Haaah... Ah, brilliant idea from the Royal Brain! You come up with first names, while I come up with middle names! Team effort!" The shelled man agreed, and started to think of fitting names for the children.

After a half-hour of thinking, the King had come up with good middle names, while he sent Escargon to retrieve food for the children, and himself. They were getting hungry, and so was he, despite finishing his breakfast earlier. The King could out-eat an entire country if he tried... As Escargon was retrieving food from the kitchen, he had also come up with perfect names for the children. Well, as long as the King agreed. Aurila was a common name used to give people a gold-sounding name. He was struggling on red-sounding names until he remembered the name of a great-great-uncle: Rufo. Hopefully the King wouldn't mind the name of an ancestor being used for his child.

When the Advisor returned, the King had a proud look on his face, contrasting with the golden baby's teary eyes. Escargon quickly grabbed the baby and began to bottle-feed her. The King was shocked. Since when did Escargon have experience with mammalian babies and their desire for milk? Little did he know, on a few of his visits to the Soldier Dees, he had held their young for a while, wondering if he would ever do this with a child of his own, whether by blood, or by adoption.

Dedede then fed the red furred child, much to his enjoyment. Well, both of their enjoyments. The King was happy to see that his children were being well cared for. He hoped that once he announced the children to the public, they would love his kids as much as he did. Day One of being a father, and he was already smitten. He wondered if that was how Duke and Duchess Parm felt when they had theirs. He would have to ask them, and Waddle Dees for advice. The Parms because they were close, and Waddle Dees because, well, same species. He put those thoughts away for the moment, however. He had papers to complete.

"So? Any names for the kiddos? For middle names, I'm thinking of Soso for the boy, and Sasa for the girl. 'So' means strength in Dreamish, 'sasa' means magic. Heh, I want my kids to do well. So I gave them names that mean good things! What'd you come up with then?"

"Your names are actually not too bad... I guess we have Prince Rufo Soso Danya and Princess Aurila Sasa Danya. Is that acceptable, Sire?"

"Heh, sure is! Ya know, the middle names kind of remind me of my cousins. Now let's see, where did those papers... Aha! Rufo..." The King started to scrawl the children's names down. Escargon made a mental note to make copies with legible handwriting. He also remembered the King's young cousins and how they were doing. They would most likely love to see the young Prince and Princess.

"Your Majesty, how about we ask your cousins if they'd like to see your babies? Although they'd have to get the attractions down, and keep the Mumbies away..."

"Brilliant idea, Gon-Gon! Let me just message them after I finish writing the naaaames... Done! Hey, they babies are relaxed now, I think the gol- er, Aurila's gone to sleep, and Rufo looks tired, too. How about you pass these papers to the orphanage? Pretty please? I'll, uh, up your pay!"

"Hah... Very well, Dedede. I'll be back soon." With that, the Advisor left the room.

\-----

"Heh, did you see that guy, Rufo? That's Pa's best friend and Royal Advisor Escargon. I know Waddle Dees can't speak as quickly as other species, but I still want you to remember his name. He's important to me. Because, well, my best friend, my right-hand man, all that..." He was thankful for his feathers, hiding his cheeks which were starting to redden.

"I guess I don't have to worry about you blabbing to him about what I said, huh? Might get, um, awkward. I meant it in a friend way... We're friends. Nothing wrong with two guys who are into guys being best friends. Even though... one of them... Bah, I'm talking to a baby, this doesn't matter!" He started to grumble to himself, his cheeks getting hotter. He felt like if they got much hotter, his head would burst into flames.

Stars, he was not good with relationships. Not like his siblings. His sister has multiple partners in her country to the south, and his brother is married to a Queen from a different planet. At times where he had relationship issues, he tended to talk to his siblings, while ignoring their teasing. He'd soon have to tell them about their niece and nephew, too. But that would be later. His cousins were closer, just outside of Whispy Woods' green domain. He decided to ignore the embarrassment and just ask to visit them.

\-----

**Dreamy Castles Group Chat**

**11:57 Dream Land Time (DLT)**

**3D:** i have a surpriiiiiiise for ya!

 **My Castle:** Oh, are you and you-know-who??? (O.O)

 **My Games:** Brother, no. You know he's embarrassed about it. (-.-)

 **3D:** you little piece of ****!

 **3D:** wait is swearing still banned?

 **My Castle:** Yep... (^.^)

 **3D:** ...jerk. yeah, jerk. anyway, wanna see something cute?

 **My Games:** Is it a baby? Babies are CUTE. (>.<)

 **My Castle:** No... (-.-)

 **My Castle:** Babies are ADORABLE!!! <(^.^<) (>^.^)>

 **Royal Goon:** I don't want to know what you were referring to before but I don't like it... It's also quite funny to me how you two love cute things yet you turned your castle into a haunted attraction.

 **3D:** askdjsajh go getem gon-gon!

 **My Games:** Gon-Gon. (^.^)

 **My Castle:** GON-GON... (>.<)

 **Royal Goon:** Why. Just... Why.

 **3D:** don't ask! just don't! they're silly kids!

 **My Games:** We're older. By 57 years. (-.-)

 **3D:** yeah, but guinans age quicker, so i'm more mature. :P

 **Royal Goon:** You ruined that with the emoticon, King.

 **3D:** ...dang

 **3D:** anyway do you remember what Waddle Dee babies look like? cause you're about seeeeeeeee!

**3D shared a picture!**

**My Castle:** AAAAAAAAAA Dedede, a FATHER... (O.O)

 **My Games:** Cute. So cute. We need to see them in real life! (O.O)

 **Royal Goon:** May we bring them to your castle, then?

 **My Castle:** Uhhhh... Tomorrow...? We need to clean for the babies...

 **My Games:** Clean. For. The. CUTIES. (^.^)

 **My Games:** Our cousin has kids. What does that make us to them?

 **3D:** family? i dunno, but tomorrow's fine. oh, i gotta go, the parms wanna chat, probably a good time to tell them my happy news. see you both tomorrow!

 **Royal Goon:** According to what I read, that would make you two and the Prince and Princess are first cousins, once removed. Anyway, I should join the King in his chat, goodbye, you two!

 **My Castle:** See you... and your partner... in running the kingdom because you're his advisor... (>.<)

 **My Games:** Lo, nooooooo! It's mean. Although it's also kinda funny. (^.^)

\-----

**Unnamed Group Chat**

**12:08 Dream Land Time (DLT)**

**King:** Ahem, greetings, lowly peasants! Even though I am not there, please bow to your King! HEHEHEHE!

 **Doctor:** i am also bowing to the king even though we're in the same room. also his royal handsomeness has something brilliant to tell you.

 **Bruhmin:** What?

 **Memoo:** Oh, I see. Darling, scroll up, and you can see that they changed their names.

**King changed their name to Gone!**

**Doctor changed their name to DDD!**

**Gone:** What happened to your usernames, then? Last I checked, you were Rum and Mum.

 **Memoo:** Blame Bun. He felt that it was funny! I am no bovine! Is he that bad at biology? We're marsupials, for the love of the Stars...

 **Bruhmin:** I think it's just a harmless joke, dear. The 'mu' in your name sounds like the noise a bovine makes, while for me, he added a 'h' to make 'bruh'. Besides, you don't seem to hate it, you've kept the name...

 **DDD:** sajdasjfajkljklf the kid's great, tell him i said that. anyway, you two messaged me about about the twins and kracko? what the hades happened?

 **Memoo:** Well, while we were on the new airships, which had wonderful views, may I add... They decided to float out of it!

 **Gone:** What. WHY?

 **Bruhmin:** Fumu noticed that they were trying to touch the clouds. Then they saw a family of Brontos and went over to them. When they were making their way back, they...

 **Bruhmin:** You say it please, dear...

 **Memoo:** Fine, fine. They fell.

 **DDD:** what?????

 **Gone:** WHAT. Oh, Stars!

 **DDD:** and they're alive? did someone catch them?

 **Memoo:** Not someone. Somethings. A star and a heart, which Vel named Warp Star and Warp Heart appeared from nowhere and saved them!

 **DDD:** ok, i've done a bit of research on popumoni with Gon-Gon, and uh, never heard of them.

 **Gone:** Perhaps they're more special than we thought. It would explain their odd pupil shape...

 **DDD:** ???

 **Bruhmin:** Ah, I think I remember now. Divine heritage? You think one of the current or dead Deitites is related to our children?

 **Memoo:** Preferably the dead ones... These new Deities are more like Demons...

 **Gone:** That's my guess. What with the heart, and Velby's pupil shape, I'm guessing that they have a Heart Matter Deity in their lineage. I can't guess for Kirby, however...

 **DDD:** heyyyy, i've got an idea. how about you two talk with midnight? they might be busy but they said that in the past they've worked with popumoni! they might have a clue or two! i'll send you their profile... or get Gon-Gon to do that...

 **Gone:** Thanks. No offense, but enough of Kirby and Velby. The King has a surprise, right?

 **Bruhmin:** You do, Sire? My apologies! I thought that was a joke to go with the swapped names.

**DDD shared a picture!**

**Memoo:** Oh My Stars, you're a father now? Congrats! Although I feel bad for the parent who had to give them up.

 **DDD:** same, but they wanted the babies to be safe, so now i have rufo and aurila.

 **Bruhmin:** How precious. A red furred Dee and a gold furred Dee? Looks like your children will be strong, your majesty.

 **Memoo:** Not as strong as our babies!

**Memoo shared a picture!**

**Gone:** Are they climbing on Kracko?! How are they alive...

 **Bruhmin:** Well, after ruining the meal the Great Kracko gave us, he got angry, so we had to leave, but he didn't seem to mind the climbing.

 **DDD:** djkadsljkdsjkl those two are hilarious! climbing on kracko??? guess he's weak to babies. who would've thought.

 **DDD:** ooooooooooooooooooooooo idea. great idea from the great king. listen up, guys!

 **Bruhmin:** I'm listening.

 **DDD:** my cousins want to meet my kids tomorrow at their castle. how about you join us?

 **DDD:** 1, you're gonna get a no-scare version of their castle.

 **DDD:** 2, you're gonna be with me, Gon-Gon, and my cousins.

 **DDD:** 3, your babies can meet mine and be... baby pals!

 **DDD:** 4, they might do non-scary games so bun can do something. not sure about fumu, though. any ideas?

 **Memoo:** I'd love that. Have we thought of a time?

 **Gone:** How about 11:00? That way, we can have lunch with the royal twins!

 **Bruhmin:** Fine by me. Ah, imagine, twins meeting twins!

 **DDD:** don't have to imagine, it's gonna happen.

 **Memoo:** I'm sure Fumu will find something that will pique her interest... Is there a library?

 **Gone:** I think there is, on the top floor.

 **Memoo:** Wonderful. Right, darling?

 **Bruhmin:** Of course, dear! A family outing, plus our friends and some new one!

 **Memoo:** Yes, it sounds great. Maybe we can even hold hands...

 **DDD:** holding hands??? dededisgusting! also, too straight, you gotta stop.

 **Memoo:** I'm bisexual, King Dedede.

 **DDD:** i knowwwww, i'm joking! but bruh...min, cis and het? bleh.

 **Bruhmin:** Sorry.

 **DDD:** kdkdajkdaskjljkld joking, bruhmin. you're my fave ally.

 **DDD:** but wow, imagine a family where you and one child are the only cis-het ones.

 **Bruhmin:** Actually, Sire, I have a few corrections.

 **Bruhmin:** Popumoni have no, well, lower parts. if you catch my drift. So they technically are cis, while being non-binary at the same time.

 **Bruhmin:** Also, I'm quite sure that Fumu has an interest in girls, as well as boys. Not sure about non-binary children her age, however.

 **Memoo:** ...She does? She's bisexual as well?! How did I not notice?! I will talk to her later, see if I can help her if she is struggling to come out. Darling, are you sure? I don't want to sound like a fool.

 **Bruhmin:** Well, if talking about one of her friends while blushing doesn't sound like she has a crush to you, dear, I don't know what will.

 **Gone:** Nervousness? She is new to friendship.

 **Bruhmin:** I have also seen her stare at girls in her mental age group a few times before, and me and Memu both know that she isn't as interested in fashion as she used to be.

 **Memoo:** True, she prefers more practical clothing. Although, luckily for me and her, she doesn't mind wearing make-up.

 **Bruhmin:** Ah, mother-daughter bonding. I should probably spend a bit more time with the children when I am not consulting with the other Dukets.

 **Bruhmin:** Oh. Um...

 **Bruhmin:** If you would excuse me, Kirby is poyoing in my ear. I think they're hungry.

 **Memoo:** Meanwhile, I must check on Bun. I really don't want him to fall back into the cheating homework habit he got rid of last year... And then talk to Fumu...

 **Gone:** Before you go, Memu, how is Fumu finding her first year of Second School, aside from her crush? I understand that she stayed behind for a year to help Bun in martial arts.

 **Memu:** She is doing fine, and she is making a nice group of friends that share interests with her! She was awkward at first, but she's adapted well. Very well, if she has a crush... And Bun's truly improved in martial arts, although he didn't need to, as his class had a lesson about acceptance of others, which made his bullies have a think. All is well! Now, I really must go.

 **DDD:** see you tomorrow!

 **Gone:** Bye.

 **Memu:** Bye 'Gon-Gon', bye 'De'... or are those special nicknames? ;)

 **Gone:** What.

 **Gone:** No.

 **Gone:** ...She's gone.

 **DDD:** haha gone like your user. nice.

 **Gone:** No key-smashing? Are you alright?

 **DDD:** all good, all good. but uh, I have an idea, finally for the group chat name.

**DDD changed the group chat name to We Have Strong Babies!**

**\-----**

**We Have Strong Babies Group Chat**

**12:27 Dream Land Time (DLT)**

**Gone** : ...The Prince and Princess aren't mine!

 **DDD:** i KNOW that. you're my advisor and right-hand man, though. so you gotta help me raise them.

 **Gone:** Fine. By the way, why are still talking in this chat? We're in the same room.

 **DDD:** we can't wake the babies!

 **DDD:** fuuuuuu- rufo's crying.

 **Gone:** His nappy... Oh Stars... Who will change it?

 **DDD:** ...

 **Gone:** ...

 **DDD:** notme

 **Gone:** Not me.

 **Gone:** Curses. May as well take Aurila with me...

 **DDD:** ddjkjadskkjld a true babysitter! thanks, gonnie!

\-----

Well, the Skavvan escaped, but there was nothing to worry about. He was too stubborn anyway. He had lied to them all, but his magical abilities were terrible. He would make a poor wizard. Or, more likely, a dead one if he tried to return to his home planet. Without his uncle's protection, and the help of the starship, his survival chances were low.

But like one Officiant said to the other, it did not matter. While finding those six children who were near death and then saving them, they had gathered a group of soon-to-be talented mages. A green haired boy with plant magic found being swallowed by a carnivorous plant. A cyan haired girl with water magic, found drowning in a tsunami. A brown haired boy with earth magic, who was found being crushed in a landslide. These three would work for the Officiant of Ruin. Then there was a blue haired boy with ice magic, found freezing in a blizzard. A red haired girl with fire magic, found burning in an inferno. Finally, a yellow haired girl with lightning magic, found being zapped by an enraged Sky Guardian. These three would work for the Officiant of Doom.

With the power, and friendly rivalries of these six Elumin children, the two Dark Lords will one day make a return. Now, their crystal prisons had to be found, hidden somwhere in the Gamble Galaxy. Not the Gimbara Galaxy. Not where their forefathers were betrayed. But they would have revenge someday. With the help of the Dark Lords, it shall be so. They just had to wait.


	6. Love Is Awkward, Hate Is Horrible!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fumu is struggling to figure herself out, until she gets some... Awkward motherly advice. Meanwhile, Dedede tells his siblings about the Royal babies. At the same time, Fumu is having fun with her friends until she spills the beans. Meanwhile-meanwhile... Midnight and crew discover a new threat. The King must be informed!

Brumin started preparing the meals for the twins. Despite their large appetites, they would eat anything, and not get ill, so they didn't have to spend too much more. He was just happy that the inheritance from his Uncle allowed him to become a Duke and afford great things for his family in the first place. The thought of the King taking his children to see his cousins, added to the fact that he would most likely message his siblings about the news made him feel homesick.

Well, Dream Land was his home now. Planet Pop Star would be where he lived until the end of his days. But maybe one day he could visit his family, on Planet Meri. His seven siblings would be pleased that the youngest has more children to love. Although he dreaded the mocking of his greying hair. At least some green remained...

Speaking of greens, the vegetables were done. Popumoni were not a fussy kind, quite the opposite. They could probably eat edible Aether if it were a thing. Then again, with this new fad of 'healing food', maybe they would. Healing-magic infused food? Amazing. It was about time that people took the secrets of the Maxim Tomato's healing abilities and give them to other foods.

As the Duke pondered on foods, the children happily ate their veggies, although they were a tad impatient on waiting for the meat. After a bit more yelling, the lamb chops were done. Brumin reminded himself to thank the Village's Mayor and his son for their sheep.

\-----

After Memu praised her son on completing his homework and letting him play with his friends, along with minimal mathematical help on her part -she had always struggled with the subject, but it was a learning experience for the both of them- she went to visit Fumu. The mother, after the interesting revelation from her husband -why in the name of the Twinkling Creators did he keep it secret?- had some talking to do with her daughter. This... may be awkward. Compared to Bun, Fumu may not be aware of her identity. Although she never had a parental figure to help her out, she did have friends when she was young. The Ultraweb, too. She just hoped that Fumu could accept herself, just as she did, nearly two centuries before.

She knocked on the door, two short taps, a sign that she wanted a talk. A noise that would usually set a trouble-making Bun into a worry. However, Fumu was much better behaved compared to her brother. She was not worried in the slightest. At least, that was what Memu thought before she opened the door and saw her daughter huddled in her blankets, crying. Next to her was her phone, looking at a website that defined the meaning behind... well, it seems like Fumu had beat her to it. Although she may be incorrect in her conclusion. Fumu had stopped on 'lesbian'. Now, Memu was obviously fine if the girl described herself as such, but making mistakes in your identity could mess someone up. Memu remembered when she thought that her bisexuality was a phase. She was with a boy, not Brumin, trying to get these 'weird' thoughts out of her head. When she had described her self-doubts to the boy... he was disgusted. It seemed like he had the mindset of someone who had lived over 10 millennia ago. Luckily, her friends -now including Brumin- guided her to the correct conclusion, and she felt... complete.

She slowly stepped towards the blanket covered-girl. Her tail was awkwardly trailing on the floor, messing up her balance. The usually graceful Duchess... face-planted onto the carpeted floor. Seeing only the green carpet, Fumu's expression was a mystery. Until she heard a quiet, muffled laughter, coming from the mess of blankets that Fumu had deemed a comfort.

Memu slowly got to her knees, rubbing her nose. She hoped that she wouldn't bruise for tomorrow. Fumu had her hands covering her mouth, giggling, despite the tears trailing down her face.

"Fumu, what is the matter? Why are you crying?" she already knew, she just wanted to hear it from her daughter. Besides, she couldn't think of anything comforting to say. She also wanted to hide the embarrassment of tripping over nothing.

She sat next to the blanked-swathed child, and was handed a phone, its case reminding Memu of the oceans that she honeymooned at. She mentally shook her head and tried to focus on the matter at hand.

"Mama... I think I'm... Well, that. I think I like girls. No... I know I like them. It's-it's weird, I've never thought about a girl like this until a while ago, but now I just think about how pretty they are and... S-sorry. Looks like you're not getting a son-in-law from me..." she started to sniffle again, although she had stopped crying. Despite the woman doing pretty much nothing to comfort her, as she hadn't had much of a chance, the girl felt a weight off of her shoulders. She hadn't told anyone.

"Well, I agree that girls, well women for me now, are pretty, but... Fumu, do you remember when you had a crush on your teacher's nephew a few years ago? You may be like me. You never know..."

"You don't know, either! Do you want me to like boys or something? Do you want me to be straight? A bit hypocritical, coming from you!"

Fumu had now hidden her face in the blankets, eyes widening, jaw dropping. Instantly regretting her words. In normal situations, Memu would scold her for speaking in a disrespectful manner. However, she was young, and emotional. She was scared too. Most likely scared of the reactions of her friends once they found out.

Memu heard something coming from the blanket. As she strained her ears-

"I'msorryi'msorryi'msorry-" she was whispering, without taking a breath.

"Fumu. Don't apologise, you are still young. Still figuring out who you are. Your sexuality doesn't change anything for me, except if I will one day see you married or not. Why in the stars would I want you to be straight. Come now... With this, your father will be the only one who is straight and binary!"

The girl now started to laugh, relieved that she wouldn't be shouted at.

"Hehe, 'straight and binary'? It doesn't have the same ring as 'cis-het'..."

"True, but the twins were born without gender markings, so they're both currently cis and agender."

"Yeah... Mama... do you really think that I'm bisexual like you?"

"Well, I'm not sure, I just want you to be sure. I struggled with my identity. Your brother struggled with his, and he hasn't even thought of relationships yet... It's difficult to struggle. I want to give you all possibilities so you're sure. Lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, etc. You can label yourself as lesbian if you wish, but may I suggest joining the 'Queer Youths' website that Bun uses? You may find others like you, and find advice, rather than listening to an old lady..."

"Sounds good... Wait, 'old lady'? You're nowhere near old! ...You're not greying like Papa is..." They both giggled at that.

Brumin sneezed, the sound like a starship taking off, startling both babies, and making him sigh in exasperation.

"I'll have a look, Mama. You may be right. Boys can be cute, too. Maybe I just got too focused on realising that I like girls. I'll research it."

"Don't forget your studies, sweetie."

"...I'm starting to get too old to be called that, Mama." She was 34, for the sake of the stars! In just under 30 years, she'll be an adult!

"Oh stars... Please don't become a grumpy adolescent..."

"Hmph! I don't what you're talking about, hag! I've always been like this!" Fumu tried to keep a annoyed expression on her face. She failed.

"Oh stars. I really hope that you don't start acting like that..."

"8 years, approximately until I start puberty... What's it like?"

"Uh- not this. I was dreading this... Well, I guess I have to explain eventually, though I'm surprised that you didn't research this as well as sexualities..." Memu slowly averted her eyes. She didn't know which was worse, learning this from the Social Worker, or learning it from parents. She never knew the latter, so she prayed that a parent telling a child would be less awkward.

"I-I was nervous! Who knows what I'd find! I'd rather hear it from a reliable source, an adult!"

"...Fine. This will be uncomfortable for us both. But, I forgot... Ah, well, did we tell you how babies are made?"

"Yes, last year. After I found out that I'd be a big sister again. Now that was awkward. I couldn't look at you for two weeks..."

She cringed, remembering the dirty feeling that came over her whenever she remembered how babies were made. How she and her brother, her mother and father, her many aunts, uncles, entles, cousins... They were all made like that. Bleh.

"Yes, yes, I remember now... Very awkward..."

\-----

"Oh stars, will that hurt?!" The girl looked horrified, and held her stomach, imagining gut-wrenching agony.

"Only a bit. In other species, they have pouches from birth, growing with them. Ours develops in puberty. It's the same in both sexes, so your brother won't have to worry about that..."

"I'll also grow a lot? I wonder if I'll be taller than Papa."

"Possibly. Then we could both tease him for being tiny!" The woman imagined her husband buying high-heeled shoes just to catch up to them. Hm, they may suit him...

"Nice. Uh, anything else?"

"Ah... just fur on your face. I'm not sure why it happens, it just does."

"I'll... get facial hair?" Just when Fumu couldn't look anymore horrified, here was hair. Fur. Whichever it is, she'll gain some on her face.

"A bit, yes. I'm personally not a fan of having it, although I did have a nice little beard which matched your father's if you look in old photos." Now she was reminiscing on the tiny beards they had when their relationship had just begun. Good times.

"Won't my friends think I'm weird if I get a beard?"

"Why would they? You have friends of many different species which grow up in different ways. There's nothing to worry about."

"But... What if she doesn't like it...?" Fumu's face slowly grew more and more red as she mumbled.

"Who?" This seemed familiar. Didn't Brumin mention that she had a close friend who she has a crush on?

"Um! Well, her name is Addie. She's actually a Neomin. She likes to draw with me at break. Her drawings almost seem life-like... She also said that her Aunt was a mage and that she wants to follow in her footsteps." Her eyes sparkled as she described her friends.

Fumu was going through a drawing phase, currently. Her phases happened often, sometimes writing, sometimes excavating with the Village Archaeologist, sometimes photography... She always stuck to loving marine life, however. This is why Memu was slightly surprised that her daughter's crush wasn't a Blipper, or a Squishy, or even a Flotzo.

"A Neomin... Right, I've seen her a few times. Her kind are quite tall... I guess it makes sense, they do come from the Humans after all."

"Yeah. I wonder how they all... well. You know, disappeared... Died? I've wanted to research, but it's likely sad..." Fumu sometimes mourned the lost species, sad that she couldn't learn from them directly. Their evolutionary descendants would have to do.

"You'll probably learn about it in History. It happened millennia ago, and it still affects people..."

"Hm... Well, enough moping about sad things, I'll say! I'm going to go to the beach with Addie and a few others and... tell them."

"Tell them? Already?" She would rather tell her friends than her brother and father? Children sure were confusing. Memu felt old as those thoughts drifted through her mind.

"I may as well do it now that I'm comfortable than wait and slowly get nervous again!"

"I... alright. Be safe, and don't take too long. Which beach are you going to?"

"Near Float Islands. Don't worry, some of my friends can fly and are pretty strong. We'll be back in time for dinner."

"Alright. Have fun, I love you!"

"You too, Mama!"

As Fumu left the room after fixing her bed, Memu realised that she forgot to tell her about tomorrow's trip. Well, she could wait until dinner. Now, how was Brumin doing...?

\-----

Fumu sat on the sand, watching the waves. Lekie, the Bronto, flapped her wings in the face of Cara, the Scarfy, who morphed into his cycloptic form and started to chase the winged child, while swiping his claws at her wings. Bradiny, the Waddle Dee made a sandcastle with Ubana, the Kabu. Both girls' faces remaining calm until completion, Bradiny starting to do a shuffling dance, while Ubana gave a rare smile and a thumbs up. Ladoo, a Doo raced Portio, a Cappy to the nearest rock by swimming. Ladoo won.

Addie sat next to Fumu, drawing the scene, while some of the others just lay on the sand, sunbathing for some, relaxing for those without skin. Addie noticed Fumu's fidgeting, her hands playing with her buttoned blouse, her hair, her phone. Nervous. Fumu was nervous, but about what?

The shaking girl then stood up and called everyone over. Some walked lazily, some flew, others ran while shaking themselves dry from the lukewarm seawater. All eyes were on her. Addie gave her a pat on the back, trying to cheer her up, motivate her, anything. It only made her more nervous. Some of the children snickered at Fumu, as her cheeks were darkening to an orange colour from embarrassment. She tried to ignore it, as others gave her patient smiles. Or for those without mouths, a thumb pointing up.

"E-Everyone, I have... News. It's about me. I... Well, I've realised something about myself, and I thought, as my friends, you should be some of the first to know. ...I haven't even told Bun yet..."

"What is it? I don't have all day, big ears," that earned some snickers as the voice continued, "It better not be something dumb, like some boring sea fact."

"I wouldn't call you over for that! It's much more important! I... I like girls. In a romantic way. I don't have a label yet, but that is the truth. That's what I wanted you all to know."

Faces stared. They stared, stared, and stared some more. Fumu felt their burning gazes. They were all so quiet. Why? Did she say something wrong? Would they not respect her? ...Would she be alone again? Some people started to smile. Whether they were malicious or joyful smiles was yet to be seen.

Then, Addie stood straight, her hand still on Fumu's back. Support? She began to speak.

\-----

It was dinner time.

As usual, Kirby and Velby had finished first. They were watching Channel PPP -currently showing Robo Warrior- although the girl hated her Mech Suit at first, she grew to be thankful for it, fighting for her amnesiac father and ill mother. She dispatched enemies with ease, while explosions filled the screen and electronic music filled the air. The show's pilot episode was created by the HWC's President himself, for unknown reasons. A compulsion, perhaps? None knew but him.

While the babies sat on the sofa, staring at the blonde girl's heroics, the older Parms were discussing Fumu.

"You like girls, Fufu? That's cool! Now Papa's the odd one out." Bun then chuckled at his father, pink eyes twinkling with amusement at his father's fake annoyed face.

Said face reminded Memu and Fumu of the girl's 'adolescent' act. They started to chuckle as well.

"Well, Fumu, you said you went with your friends, correct? How did they take it?" Parm asked, his concern ruining his annoyed illusion.

"It... Well. Some took it fine. Others were a bit weirded out. Didn't they listen to the talk that happened in all of the Royal Academies about accepting others...?" Her eyes started to water. She now, to a degree, understood what Memu and Bun went through before.

"H-hey, no worries, Fufu! If they don't like you, then they're not true friends. I lost some after I came out! But now I have new friends. Even online ones! Did Mama tell you about the Queer Kids site?"

"Queer 'Youths'. Yes, she did. I'll join it, too. I hope your friends are real people."

"Hey! The site says that cameras track faces and compare them to others of the same er- species? Yeah, species... Species! So... it's all good!"

"Fumu, that site has existed for decades, no one has tried to hack anything or hurt anyone. Moderators are very vigilant. I just wish that it existed when I was your age..." Memu reassured the girl, quelling all worries.

"But, to be safe, my girl, don't meet anyone from there without one of us or a trusted adult with you. The same goes to you, Bun."

"Papaaaa, you've me that a hundred times! I'm not stupid. Besides, my friends are from far away parts of Dream Land, other countries on Pop Star or even other planets! So I'll never meet most of them in real life."

"I just want my children to be safe..."

"Don't worry, darling. If they want to meet anyone nearby, we can perhaps get a Soldier Dee to watch over them." Memu reassured him.

"Hey, enough about the website! Fufu. What did those jerks who thought you were weird say? I don't care if they're older than me, the only one who can call you dumb names is me! It's the Fumu-Bun Law!"

"I... They just didn't expect it. I'm sure with time, they'll be okay with it..."

"Maybe, but be careful around those ones. I don't want you being bullied..." Brumin was growing more disheartened by the minute. Millennia have passed since all planets allowed people of all genders and sexualities their rights, yet some are still being treated horribly.

"Well! I'll just show them the moves I learned from Master Knee Joey. I think I'm getting close to the next rank, orange. Heh, impressed, Bun?"

"Whaaa? I only just got to yellow! ...I'll catch up." He grumpily gulped down his pie as he said so.

"Fumu, what about Addie? Was she alright with it? She's your closest friend, correct?" Memu had to know. Would her daughter be heartbroken?

"Actually, it turns out that my coming out inspired some of my other friends to do the same! Non-binary, gay, pan, trans... Oh, and Addie's bigender, switching between boy and girl depending on which makes them feel more comfortable. They even have a different name for when they're a boy... It's great! It's like we were all destined to become friends. There are still some friends that are cis-het, but they're really accepting. Like you, Papa."

"Oh! Well, that makes sense. Your mother and I are in a few LGBT+ friend groups, and I'm the odd one out, usually. It's almost like queer people magically come together to bond."

"I... don't think it's magic, Papa."

"Wait! Queer people come together? So my friends at school... One day, they might come out? That's so cool!" Bun's hidden eyes shone in excitement, hoping that he won't be the odd one out in his little group. Or maybe his group will grow. Who knows?

"Speaking of queer people, Brumin... The King has a surprise, doesn't he?"

"A-Ah! I completely forgot! He'll be announcing this shortly on Channel PPP at... Wah! 19:00! It's 17:52, according to my phone! Hurry, eat, eat! As fast as the twins!" He quickly hurried to finish his dinner, despite the others complaining that they couldn't as fast as Kirby and Velby, and that they had plenty of time.

\-----

**Royal Siblings Group Chat**

**17:52 Dream Land Time (DLT)**

**08:23 Ripple City Time (RCT)**

**Da:** oh whyyyy. it's too earlyyyy. De, you're killing meeeeeeee!

 **Do:** Man, I was GONNA go see what Lord Oinky wants, but nah, you're here, De.

 **Do:** Joking. Missed ya both.

 **Do:** Ah dang, he got his head in a skull.

 **Da:** a skull? whyyyyy?!

 **Do:** Not a real skull, Da. A skull shaped pot for my plants. It smells like the plants in Volcano Valley.

 **Do:** Maybe he misses home. I dunno. Give a Queen a minute to sort out her boy.

 **De:** he's her kid and she calls him oinky. great nickname, sis.

 **De:** and why lord and not prince?

 **Do:** Sounds cuter. He's gonna be the Lord of Skulls if he carries on. At least he'll grow up quick...

 **Da:** yeah... very quick. the Pikis grow wayyyyyy too fast. and big. you're doomed.

 **De:** uhhh, speaking of growing up... how's your kid, Da?

 **Do:** How is she? Is. She. Ok?

 **Do:** Auntie Da must K N O W. Also, your wife, how's Her Maj?

 **Da:** call her Lace! Lace is fine and my kid's fine. she still hasn't found her 'name-item', so she's still Ripplette for now.

 **De:** what does Ripplette's bio dad think of ya?

 **Da:** pffffffffff- we're friends, De! I've been there for 20 years, me and Butt are good.

 **De:** BUTT. sadkjsakadsjkdsakjlk

 **Do:** Butt??? haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 **Do:** Oh, Button, got ya.

 **De:** hey.

 **Do:** Finally going to say why you've got us here, little man?

 **Da:** come on, Tinyyyyyy!

 **De:** ...i ain't much shorter than you two, and you know it.

 **Do:** We know, just tell!

 **Da:** say it or i'm gonna go back to sleep.

**De sent a picture!**

**Do:** Oh stars.

 **Da:** WHAT THE

 **Da:** De's a Pa

 **Da:** De. Is. A. PA!

 **Do:** I know. Oh wow, we're all parents. Never thought that woulda happened.

 **De:** yeah, me neither. meet Rufo Soso and Aurila Sasa. thank Gon-Gon for the names, i suck at 'em.

 **Do:** We know you do. Baby Dees... I forgot how cute they are! I gotta visit soon.

 **Da:** me too. gotta meet my niece and nephew.

 **Do:** A week?

 **Da:** a week.

 **De:** ok, decide it without the guy who you're visiting. luckily i have nothing planned then, so sure. think you can handle the travel, bro? your time's pretty different!

 **Da:** we'll be fine. want to see the babies.

 **Da:** is that it?

 **De:** yep! you'll probably see it on the ultraweb.

 **De:** oh crap the broadcast i gotta get the babies ready gotta go love ya both bye

 **Do:** Ah, the littlest one is finally a Pa. Are you gonna mess with him and Escargon when we're there?

 **Da:** yup. now can i sleep? Lacie wants a hug from her man.

 **Do:** TMI, go.

 **Da:** it's a hug?

 **Do:** You know how I handle PDA. I don't. Go away. Sleeeep, little brother.

 **Da:** fiiiiiine. love ya sis.

 **Do:** You too.

\-----

The family rushed to the TV as the advertisement for a new Air Ride tournament ended. Bun made a mental reminder to watch the tournament. Memu and Parm sat the twins on their laps. The little ones were confused, but kept watching the channel. Suddenly-

"BREAKING NEWS!" shouted Bodee, the reporter Dee, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. He really loved his job.

"As of last night, His Majesty, the Great King Dedede has had an announcement waiting for us all! What could it be? Even I don't know. The only people who know are the people who live in the castle, and some of His Majesty's few close friends and family!"

The camera slightly wobbled as Captain Teedu ushered them to the throne room. Capdee tried his best to hold the camera steady. As the news crew entered the throne room, the camera zoomed in on a proud King, a smug Advisor, and two baby Dees in the King's arms.

"O-Oh wow! Your Majesty, are these...?" Bodee was nearly jumping with excitement, making Heddee roll her eyes and yank the mic away from whacking range. Poor Beadee, once again, couldn't show cue cards. So instead, they drew pictures of the baby Dees, showing them to Capdee, who nodded, sleepily.

"Hehehehe, yep! These are my two new babies! The red one's Prince Rufo Soso Dayan, and the gold one's Princess Aurila Sasa Dayan! Look at the camera, kiddos."

The baby Dees were confused, but looked at the strangers anyway. The big things pointed at them made Rufo tear up, and Aurila screech.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, you two! Pa's here. Pa's here, no worries. Look, our buddy, Gon's talking to them, how nice of him." He talked softly, calmly, to shock of all. The King actually had paternal instincts! It worked, too. The babies looked at the older Dees. Aurila cooed, while Rufo tried to reach for Beadee's blue beanie.

"Isn't this a shock, people watching? The King seems like he'll make a great father, and with the help of all the Dees in the castle, looking after two babies should be easy!"

"Heh, and another thing, Dream Land! I talked to my siblings a while ago and in a week, they're coming over! King-Consort Dadada will bring the Queen, Lace, and the Crown Princess, right now, known as Ripplette. My sister, Queen Dododo of Royal Resort in the Popopo Islands will bring her son, Prince Ono. It'll be a big family reunion, so prepare yourselves!"

The King, Escargon, and Bodee talked some more. The Ultraweb fired like crazy with headlines like 'Breaking News: King Dedede is a DedeDAD!' or 'Top 10 Facts About King Dedede. Number 6 Will Shock You!', etc.

\-----

Saidee finished telling the rest of the crew about the broadcast. Sword, Blade, and Captain Vul were at Orange Ocean, working on their 'surprise', among other things, like helmets for Me-Midnight as they broke way too often. Were they cursed? Who knew...

Meanwhile, Midnight, Saidee, and the other four Knights were exploring the Counties of Bonds, currently staring at the Fountain of Heart, in Sugar Square. The purple-armoured Knight couldn't tell by the magic, but could tell by the darker colour. Something not right was in this fountain, too. Luckily, they would not be harmed by the Heart Staff. But... who was in there? Were they as powerful as-

Oh. Animosity. The Knight had not heard that name in a long, long time. Seems like they had teamed up with the Corrupt God of Dream to take over Pop Star, the planet with the true Star Rod and Heart Staff. This did not bode well. Two different threats, most likely doing this at the same time. Dream Land would be attacked at two different areas. Very dangerous. They have been at both sides of that kind of attack.

"Saidee, you know some Soldier Dees, correct?"

"Uh! Yes, Midnight!"

"Get the King here immediately. This is a problem."

The Knight could probably handle the Corrupt Godex of Heart, while the King could get stronger to fight the Corrupt god of Dream. However, this feeling... something unexpected would happen, they knew it. Maybe they should contact the GS-no. Right now they would be a traitor to those who weren't in on this plan. The rest of the Round Table would be disappointed in Bedivere if this happened. Then, when everyone found out that the silent Sirram Bedivere was the Noble Midnight, was High Commander Meta Knight, Mx Blarinn Dun-Gerre, the Corrupt Demi-Godex of Dream Phobia... what would they say? What would they think of the Knight of many names? They couldn't let anyone know. Not yet. ...They would never know of their disgusting father. Only their two mothers, two good women. Their siblings would never know why they looked so different, despite being a Popumoni and having the same mum. Could one parent change that much? A divine parent could.

Midnight sat down, thoughts whirling. No one could know. The only people who knew of their heritage were them, their mother... and HIM. Soon, it would be only two people. A minute later, they got a call.

"HEY! What's going on with the Fountain of Heart?!"

"The same as the Dream Fountain." Monotone voice. Not good. Act normal, fool! Disgra- don't think of him. One day, his voice would leave his dreams, his nightmares, for good.

"Oh fff--- frick. Uh, young Dees, ehe, hear the news, I'm-"

"A father, congratulations. However, the safety of this country is more important."

"How in Hades am I gonna prepare for two? They're really powerful, according to you, probably nearing Deity level!" Midnight cringed at that. Ah, what the King didn't know...

"I'm... not sure myself, but we must try. Luckily, I know that they can rest for a long time in there. About... 30 years? Give or take. Train troops, make more weaponry, and train yourself. You must use the Star Rod."

"What if I'm not good enough! They have little Souls, right? I use HAMMERS, not wands."

"I'm a swordsmaster, not a staff wielder. It'll have to do."

"Grrrr... Can't we just get the GSA peo-"

"No." The answer was short, cold, angry. Just like H-

"Ahem, pardon me, but I am trying to prove myself to them."

"By putting my country in danger?!"

"By showing that I can guide a country to safety. That I can defeat a Deity... or someone as strong as one. I will be strong. I have to be. You must be, too."

"Can't we just kill them now? They're weak!"

"So weak that they wouldn't be corporeal. They would leave, and come back to kill us by invading our minds and bodies."

"Oh. Let's wait. I can do that. 30 years? My kids'll start school by then. Hehe... Not all bad. Just... Gotta be strong. For them... For him... For, well, everyone."

"Yes, use the drive to protect those who mean everything to you. I will do the same. 30 years seems like a long time, but for species as long lived as you and I, they can be fast. Prepare."

"Got it. Uh, good luck. Oh, uh, that hammer, I'm putting it to the side for a while. This blimp thing seems tricky, and I'm gonna do it by myself, make Gon-Gon proud. You work on... whatever project it is, just don't mess up my country, got it? ...Also, don't tell Escargon that I called him Gon-Gon to you. I think he realises that he's special to m- oh no, he's coming, got to go, goodnight, Midnight! Keepitasecret!" The last part was hurriedly whispered, but the Knight still heard. When would those two realise their feelings. Midnight, in their almost 5 millennia of life, had only been in a relationship once, but could still tell that those two were hopelessly oblivious. Someone had to help. Not their problem, however. Midnight had their own problems.

"Understood, your Majesty. Good night."

Midnight ended the call. Remember, Midnight.

Midnight. A random Knight who has a crew and wants to be strong, owning two magic-infused blades.

Not Sirram Bedivere, the Round Table warrior who is seen rarely, in full silver armour, and a black cape.

Not Commander Meta Knight, one of the best Knights of the GSA, a strong Star Warrior who has close friends and is on a private mission, known for armour of grey and purple, a dark blue cape, and a shimmering gold sword, made by an ancient people, filled with a shining soul.

Not Mx Blarinn, a Popumoni whose family is warm, kind, and strong. A child to wonderful mothers, a sibling to brilliant brothers and sisters. A mentor to some on his home planet of Mekkai in the way of the sword, and light magic. With large glasses, a lack of horns or hair colour change, and a small body, this Popumoni's strength is surprising.

Definitely not Phobia, the child of Nightmare, skilled in shadow and dimensional magics, arms filled with horrible corrupt power- now the right is a mechanical limb designed by them. The left is still the same. For now. No longer wearing the purple cape, the blue armour, those damned horns filed down whenever they reappear. No longer wielding the black blade of fear.

Midnight. Midnight. One day you will be Bedivere, be Meta Knight, be Blarinn again. But not yet. Patience.

The two soul-filled swords that they had repeated that word. Patience.

\-----

Patience.

He has been patient for- he didn't know.

He had been in this place for- he didn't know.

His family and friends were- he didn't know.

All he knew was sleep and fighting. All of it thanks to the the Emperor he had slain while laughing like a maniac, on a power trip, fuelled by a dark substance. Regret for the planets destroyed, the lives taken, even though just before the crystal closed, the Reaper said they had forgiven him. Happiness that the evil empire had been erased by his hand. If he never had that much power however, it wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have known the truth, and may still be alive in... whatever year it was. He would be weaker, with pink feathers rather than lavender, and smaller horns. At least he would see normally, rather than being blind except for seeing Aether signatures, his red eyes turned pink by the power that never should have been his. His eyes couldn't be fixed, but his situation could.

Someone who was pure, who had never killed, had to wish for his freedom. In his many, or not many, he wasn't sure... In his time in the prison, wherever it was, the only wishes were for fights against 'maddened Aeon Hero'. Fights against 'The Galactic Threat'. 'The Empire's Traitor'. It went on. Only a handful of people wished for him without calling him something insulting.

"My one wish is to become stronger... So I wish to fr-fight... The strongest warrior from Gimbara Galaxy!"

"I want to fr- no, poyo! My wish... is to fight Galacta Knight!"

"Well, my wish is to fr- no... I'm weaker than Kirby, we have to be equals! If they won against him, I can, too! My wish is to fight Galacta Knight!"

It almost sounded like they wanted to free him too... Why? He wanted to be free, but wouldn't understand why someone do that...

"This planet is interesting... Galacta's home planet sure is different to how it used to be... He does regret doing that... Ah, the others are here. In... my dream? My dream... My... Wish. I wish to fight Galacta Knight, the strongest warrior of this Galaxy! No, again?! Of course. I can't do it... Well, at least it will be quicker for him. The others are here. Sorry, Gala."

How... how did that Knight know his true name? His true home? It sounds like... they know each other? His memories were a bit worse know, but he had only seen the Knight in the fighting dreams, were only he would age. Also, 'Gala'? Sounds like they're close. Dreams of the future...? Dreams of... a friend? He hoped so. No. He knew it. It's his reality, he could tell!

"Let us bring back a legendary swordsman from a forgotten time. He may end up destroying a nearby planet or two, but such is life. The benefits of this final battle outweigh the collateral damage."

"No... Again? He sure did suffer... Well, I shall prepare."

Damn computer. That thing. That voice. He pitied the soul inside, but it didn't stop the fact that the talking glitch had messed up his wish and thus ruined everything. No, no, his wish was granted. It was the cost that ruined him... Did the Knight know him? It must be a future event, but in his past. Time is... confusing.

"He was most powerful, jes... He could... Stop these people who are ruining my plans... Juh?! They are here?! Janno, janno.... This is... konjy vun. So fast. I am doomed. But I must fight. Jonto, Aeon Hero..."

Damned Officiant. His name is Galacta! Or even-! Doesn't matter. The Knight is dreaming again.

"Hm? A Minimorph? But those no longer exist, now that she... What is happening to G-"

After that last one, he could hear the Reaper's voice. His old friend. The only one like him, to a degree. They... combined their power into a form that resembled her. Maybe she wanted to give him a break. That time, he laid back, and for once, relaxed. She even took the pain for him. Maybe afterwards, he would go to Valhalla. But no. When all was done, they both disappeared. Him, back to the prison. Her, well, he didn't know. He just hoped that she, and any future friends he'd make, would be alright.

"Wha-? This is the legendary Aeon Hero, Vel!"

"Th-That's crazy, Kirb. No way... We... have to fight!"

Those children again. Bigger, and each one had a silent copy. The pink had a yellow clone, the silver had a purple one. Even with the bright magics, and the dark curses, he still failed.

Yes, their colour. Wonderful colour...Only in dreams could he see in colour. It was their dream, so he saw what they did. If they fought in reality, it would be quite different. All he would see an aetherial outline, the pure aether of magical attacks, and the strong aether in a soul. With that, he could still see attacks and enemies. Despite his vision loss, he was still capable. He could hear, smell, touch. He was strong... Too strong. Only those who were strong enough to kill could summon him. He would never be free.

Hm? Oh, a new dream. What's this? A person of the same species as the boy with a bandana, but this one wears a sailor cap. They- No, she, -it's her dream, he knows this, he knows their language- she summoned him in a dream. She is... pure? She summoned Galactic Nova while being... The Knight. The Knight with bat wings and the ancient blade. They retrieved the stars, she made the wish. He could... go free?

"ONE FINAL ATONEMENT ->"

One what?

"IF GALACTA KNIGHT WINS, HE WILL BE FREE, AS META KNIGHT IS CURRENTLY AS POWERFUL AS HIS REGRET AND GUILT. TO NO LONGER FEEL REGRET, IS TO ACCEPT YOUR WRONGDOINGS AND MOVE FORWARD. TO NO LONGER FEEL GUILT, IS TO KNOW THAT IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT, IT WAS NOT STELLAR NOVA'S. IT WAS THE ANDRAN EMPEROR'S FAULT. HE GAVE YOU THE POWER. HE GAVE YOU THE MOTIVE. YOU, GALACTA ARE FRAMED. YES, YOU DESTROYED A LOT, BUT NOT WILLINGLY. YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE DOING THE RIGHT THING, AND ONLY WHEN YOU REALISED THE MISTAKE, DID YOU KILL HIM. NOW, BOTH OF YOU, LISTEN ->"

Oh this does not bode well. Wait, Meta Knight? So that's their name... Also, thank you, Galactic Nova, for spilling his life story, almost...

"IF META KNIGHT WINS... GALACTA KNIGHT WILL DIE. META KNIGHT HAS NO SAY. HE IS COMPELLED TO FIGHT AS HARD AS HE CAN. I DO NOT WANT THIS, BUT IT WAS PROGRAMMED IN ME IN CASE YOU WENT 'ROGUE', GALACTA. GOOD LUCK->"

Well, Galacta would win, right? Most of those dreams with the Kn- Meta Knight was in this reality. His reality, it had to be.

"ARE YOU SURE? IF YOU WIN, AND YOU ARE WRONG, META MAY WANT TO KILL YOU AS REVENGE FOR KILLING THEM IN THIS DREAM. GET READY ->"

Oh stars... But, there was no other choice. If he wanted to redeem himself in the real world... He had to kill the Dream Meta Knight. Meanwhile, the girl was in a small starship, with Meta's masked visage on the front. They know each other. This Meta must want him free too, then. Yes. They must!

"3... ->"

This has to be his reality. He mentally apologised to Meta Knight. Then verbally, this different language sounding odd, yet pleasant.

"Meta Knight. Sorry, but I must kill you so I can atone! I don't want to kill you. I don't want to kill anymore, but I can't help people if I'm dead!"

"2... ->"

Meta just growled in response. Intelligence lost, power gained. Galacta prayed to any star, to any pure Godex that may exist in this time, to help him.

"1... ->"

Galacta gripped his lance and shield. He would fight like never before. He had to. He would show that he deserved the title of 'Strongest Warrior'. While Meta Knight was indeed mighty, what can you do against someone with powers as odd and horrible as Galacta's? If only he knew of Meta's heritage. If only Meta truly knew his past.

"GO! ->"

They flew towards each other, blinding yellow meeting blinded pink. They both wanted Galacta to win. Would he? Galacta would find out soon. Meta would have to wait decades...


	7. Sorry...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I goofed. But hey, there's lots of better fanfics and AUs out there.

I was actually preparing for the next chapter when I realised that this was way too ambitious for a first-timer. If I try again, it'll be when I'm more comfortable and feel like I can actually write. Sorry to anyone who's read this and felt disappointed.

I'll make smaller fics, to work on my writing skills, which I haven't used in years. I don't know why I thought writing out a huge AU would be a good idea. Perhaps in smaller chunks?

Anyway, sorry if I've disappointed you. I'll try again in the future, with smaller, less ambitious fics. Thanks for reading these 6 chapters of self-indulgent nonsense. The kudos and kind comments meant a lot.

\-----

Kirby and Velby may return one day, with hope in their hearts and determination to save people and solve personal mysteries. But their story will rest in a goof's brain for now.

The End, I guess. How anticlimactic.


End file.
